The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has applauded Gujarat’s notification of the Telecom Infrastructure Policy 2022. The bylaws announced by the government of Gujarat will be applicable in all the city areas, municipal councils, town municipal councils, town panchayats, etc. The policy looks after both the deployment of telecom towers as well as OFC (optical fiber cable), aerial and underground.
How Much is the Cost for Deploying OFC and Telecom Towers in Gujarat Now?
The government of Gujarat in its new policy for the telecom infrastructure has said that the applicant will have to pay Rs 1,000 per kilometre for OFC (underground and aerial) and Rs 10,000 per application for the telecom tower deployment. Note that the policy supports the regularisation of the existing telecom infrastructure which will contribute to the state’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth. With this RoW policy, the government will be able to achieve the goals under National Broadband Mission faster and allow connectivity to reach every part of the state. The telcos will be able to deploy the networks at a much lower cost which will be essential for the launch of 5G networks. For the 5G rollout, the telcos will require access to infrastructure at a much lower cost than now because the role of small cells, fiberisation of towers, and deploying more mobile towers will go up. Lt. Gen. Dr. SP Kocchar, Director General, COAI thanked the Chief Secretary of Gujarat for releasing and implementing the Notification of Gujarat’s “Telecom Infrastructure Policy 2022” which will pave way for creating a robust telecom infrastructure in the state. Kocchar further said that this move will ensure that initiatives of the central government including building smart cities, digital India and broadband to all will be achieved much faster. Every state is in the move to reduce the cost of RoW (right of way) applications and overall infrastructure deployment cost as 5G is around the corner. These states would want the telcos to prioritise them for rolling out 5G at a lower cost.
