Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman RS Sharma has said that expanding the scope of telecom infrastructure companies to allow them to share active infrastructure would help reduce capital and operational expenses of stressed mobile phone companies, and lead to ease of doing business.
“Services and infrastructure will be unbundled, and it would ultimately become infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for telecom carriers, and they can easily share networks with reduced capex and opex,” Sharma told ET.
In August, the regulator issued a consultation paper aimed at reviewing scope of infrastructure providers, or IP-I entities, which provide towers on rent or sale to telcos, and other assets such as dark fibre and duct space.
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Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (Taipa) that represents telecom infrastructure firms, said Trai’s move was much needed, and active and passive infrastructure sharing would bring multiple benefits to the financially-stressed industry. “The move, if allowed, will reduce capital and operational expenditure, allow faster time to roll out services, provide energy efficiencies and reduce entry barriers,” Taipa director general Tilak Raj Dua said.
Source: Economic Times
