TRAI recommends DoT to use fiber optic network to expand telecom coverage in Himachal Pradesh

Telecommunications regulator TRAI suggested on Monday that the Ministry of Telecommunications approach the Ministry of Defense to access part of its fiber optic network or suitable bandwidth to extend telecommunications coverage in remote areas of Himachal. Pradesh.

The regulator has recommended that in four districts – Lahaul and Spiti, Mandi, Kullu and Chamba – villages which have not yet been connected under the BharatNet project should be immediately connected on VSAT carriers which can be returned as soon as the cable optical fiber (OFC) backhaul is made available.

The identified districts have 181 uncovered villages, of which 14 are expected to be covered under the “354 Village Program” and 142 are to be covered by the USOF “Saturation of 4G Mobile” program. These schemes still leave 25 villages out of telecom coverage.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its recommendations on “Improving Telecommunications Connectivity and Infrastructure in Remote Areas of Himachal Pradesh” suggested that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) should contact with the Ministry of Defense (MoD) for the allocation of one or two pairs of OFCs on the NFS network to extend telecommunications coverage (including broadband services) to villages located in remote or border areas government under the BharatNet project.

“If this is not possible, the Ministry of Defense can be approached to allocate appropriate bandwidth on its existing functional OFC to extend telecommunications coverage to these villages,” Trai said.

Under Project Kranti, also known as Network For Spectrum (NFS), a nationwide OFC network is being implemented by BSNL, in which almost 60,000 kilometers of OFC are deployed for exclusive use by forces spectrum instead of the 65 MHz spectrum donated by the defense for auction by the DoT.

The regulator said it was already receiving a reference on activating the ICR for remote and hilly areas frequently prone to emergencies related to natural disasters and would make separate recommendations in this regard after appropriate consultation.

TRAI recommended that the capital expenditure (Capex) and operating expenditure (Opex) necessary to provide telecommunications infrastructure and connectivity to the 25 uncovered villages (belonging to the three fiscal districts of Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu and Chamba) be funded by the government through Universal Service Obligation Funds (USOF).

“The authority recommends that the DoT may petition the HP state government not to levy right-of-way (right-of-way) fees on telecommunications service providers and IP-Is to connect remote and hilly areas of state, including all locations in four districts,” TRAI said.

The Regulator suggested that the DoT should discuss with the State Government, NHAI and BRO, that in all road construction works, road widening or other related works should be carried out with prior coordination with telecommunications operators, and the contractor’s liability to make payments for damage to telecommunications networks should be included ab initio in contracts.

“The DoT should also approach the HP State Government to explore the possibility of constructing utility conduits in all future expansion and new road construction projects. This will assist in the rapid deployment of all HP infrastructure. utilities, including telecommunications, in the state,” TRAI said.

The regulator suggested that the DoT should contact the Himachal government to consider supplying electricity to telecom sites within 15 days of requesting connection at utility or industrial tariff and consider waiving the installation fee of the last mile to extend electrical connection to telecom sites in remote and hilly areas.

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