DoT Lists Wi-Fi Services in Urban Areas as Key Plan for Modi Government

The DoT has mentioned 'Wi-Fi facilities in public places in urban areas and commercial centres' in its agenda for new regime and said 'there is no regulatory impediment for provision of Wi-Fi facilities by licensed service providers and others.'

The department has included fresh points following instruction from Cabinet secretariat, sources said. On May 20, the DoT had shared a list of top 10 priority areas like introduction of new laws and security of networks and infrastructure expansion, with the Cabinet Secretary.

"There can be changes in last minute but DoT has included most of the key issues in it," sources said.

The DoT has said that under new regime there is need to work out ways of taking broadband services at village-level once connectivity through National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) project is at all 2.5 lakh panchayats.

There is an on-going discussion between Department of Rural Development and DoT for adding Wi-Fi services around NOFN at public places at panchayat level.

The draft presentation has raised issue of further fine tuning of regulation to meet modern requirement and rapid pace of technology development in the sector.

DoT has listed shaky confidence of investors in the sector, debt burden, litigations and taxations as challenge for the sector and added need of "light touch regulation" to promote growth in sector.

"There has to be 100 percent rural tele-density by 2019, 600 million broadband connections by 2019. For this government will have to facilitate infrastructure up to village level.

Government also have to see that infrastructure requirement are mostly met through indigenous products," sources said.

The new presentation includes special emphasis on massive infrastructure development especially along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

The DoT has proposed that new government should identify 100 most backward districts in terms of telecom services and bring them at par with other districts.

Besides this, the department has listed a need for a national plan to address the challenges posed by the Maoist insurgency.

The Department has listed judicial pronouncements among woes for the sector.

"Court rulings in a way have overturned many government processes. While government work is to think for public welfare over revenue generation, the apex court judgement in matter of 2G spectrum case has made officials think other way round. A remedy has to be found for this," a government official said.