It is disappointing that the National Optical Fibre Network, envisaged to bring broadband services to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country, will miss yet another deadline. Four years after the Centre approved the ₹20,000-crore project, only 6 per cent of the work has been completed. Though the UPA government had initially set a target of rolling out the network by 2013, lack of coordination between the various agencies involved and delays in procuring equipment have set back the project by several years. The blame for the slow progress lies squarely with the Department of Telecom, which failed to speed up the roll out, despite repeated prodding by the TRAI and the Prime Minister’s Office. A project of such national importance could have been better executed by involving private players. By entrusting it to public sector undertakings such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, which do not have a great track record of completing projects on time, the DoT paved the way for the project to get entangled in time-consuming tendering processes and bureaucratic hurdles. As a result, BSNL, which is supposed to lay 1.64 lakh route kilometre of optical fibre cable by March, has so far done only 11,680 km. Powergrid and Railtel, the other two PSUs involved in the project, have fared worse.
In a digital world, connectivity needs to be treated as a fundamental requirement. Infrastructure creation in the telecom space is plagued with difficulties regarding securing Right of Way for cable networks and erection of communication towers. Each State has its own set of rules, requiring multiple approvals and clearances. This not only escalates costs but is also time consuming. As a result, not many telecom companies have ventured beyond the top 100 cities to lay cables, while mobile operators struggle to get site approvals to erect base stations, leading to network congestion. A centralised, single-window clearance system will address many of these problems.
Along with creating the optic fibre, attention needs to be paid to reaching fibre to homes, which will enable users access to stable, high-speed networks at lower costs. Our policy focus has been distorted towards wireless connectivity. Given the lack of availability of radio spectrum, the delays in freeing up additional bandwidth and the rising cost of scarce spectrum, fibre-optic connectivity offers a sustainable alternative. The more robust the telecom network becomes, the more telephone conversations and data traffic it can carry. Telecom users in the US and Japan, for instance, are able to access video and live streaming at over 100 Mbps speeds. In contrast, the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats identified under the optical fibre project do not have access to any data network. If the Modi government is serious about putting India on the world’s digital map, it must quickly put in place a regulatory mechanism that enables and encourages infrastructure creation in this space.