Today, Ashwani Vaishnaw, the IT & Telecom minister stated that the Indian government wants to lure more players into the telecom industry. Especially, the government eyes to do so after the 5G spectrum auction with the assistance of structural reforms as well as the telecom relief package.
More Telecom Operators Welcome
The Minister added that it is crucial to have healthy competition in the telecom sector in the country as it will provide a plethora of options for Indian consumers. The competition will be vital for the telecom industry to provide choices to its customers. As a fundamental right, this has to be protected. The structural reforms will ensure healthy competition as well as attract new players. Furthermore, the Indian telecom industry will auction the 5G spectrum so that more players are encouraged to enter the sector. They can understand the impact of what is happening, which will let them witness sustainable growth. Moreover, these structural reforms will be revenue-neutral from the government’s perspective, added the minister. Talking about the telecom sector’s relief package, the minister noted that it will ensure optimum cash flow in the telecom industry, which will in turn be used for the deployment of 5G services in India.
Local Manufacturing Of Telecom Equipment
Furthermore, the minister added that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given the mandate that the core 4G, 5G and RAN will have to be designed and manufactured in the country. Notably, the telecom sector is capital intensive. With this mandate from the PM, BSNL as well as other telecom operators will see only the technology deployment made within India. Also, the locally made equipment related to telecom will be exported. It is expected that the Indian government will soon announce approved manufacturers to make telecom equipment under the production-linked scheme meant for the telecom equipment and networking products. It is expected that the multinational brands such as Nokia and Cisco and domestic players such as Tejas and HFCL and the major contract manufacturer Foxconn could start their local manufacturing in India after being approved by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) soon. As per Peeyush Vaish, the Partner & Telecom Sector Leader at Deloitte India, the savings in the cash flows will boost the telecom sector and make way for 5G auctions in the country.
