“Central government has defined a standard rate of Rs 1000 per kilometer for underground rollout, but states are still issuing demand notes ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 33,000 per meter. High rates in few states makes the business case totally unviable,” Airtel said in a presentation at the India ISP Conclave held on June 11.
The Internet service provider association of India (ISPAI) also raised similar issues adding that smart cities are charging exorbitant RoW charges and the need for active and passive infrastructure sharing. It called for exemption of non-licensed revenues from calculation of adjusted gross revenues (AGR), rationalisation of GST and taxes on rural and fixed line broadband services.
Airtel said while the central government has defined a flat rate of Rs 100 per pole per annum, various authorities are charging rates ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 1700 per pole per annum as pole rental charges, asking for uniform charges across the country.
Airtel also highlighted that the industry is awaiting an 8% license fee waiver for broadband to boost capex deployment by private players, which will help more homes to get connected.
Furthermore, the telecom operator said that while the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) reports there are 1007 internet service providers (ISPs), there are in fact many more service providers, and there is a need for stricter compliance to safeguard subscriber interests and ensure 100% license fee collection.The telecom operator asked for a policy to handle private RoW like housing societies, easy and standardised recovery of security deposits, bank guarantees, and GST invoices, standard restoration charges to be defined centrally, and shortening of approval process from different government bodies.India’s second largest telecom operator sees a growing opportunity in the broadband space due to the rising affluence levels and evolving consumer behaviour, which is set to open up 70 million households for broadband connectivity, with the market set to grow at 15% compounded annually.
Citing numbers from Counterpoint Research, the telco said the monthly data usage has surged from 143 GB in 2020 to 300 GB in 2022. Similarly, the number of connected devices has grown from 4.8 in 2020 to 6 in 2022, with smart TV sales surging 90% from 2020.
The telco also highlighted challenges in operating subsea cables and data centers. It cited a high turnaround time in Indian waters compared to other countries, which is leading to high cost, and cable cuts due to fishing trawlers for which it said there are no effective mechanisms for information sharing and safeguarding cable routes.
For its data centers, Airtel said a long gestation period on environment clearances, a lack of policy for all civil, electrical, and operational certifications, ineffective single window clearances, and a lack of Indian data center standards as challenges.
It also cited huge power tariffs and high variation across states, capping on renewable energy processes, and GST input credit on civil construction not available for data center services as hurdles in its data center business.
