The government has been advised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to make the digital connectivity infrastructure mandatory under building development plans.
For mandating digital connectivity infrastructure inside the buildings, its maintenance and timely upgradation, creating provisions under the real estate law RERA has been suggested by TRAI.
Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Should Be Essential Component
In its recommendations on ‘Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity’, TRAI said that “DCI (Digital Connectivity Infrastructure) should be made an essential component of the building development plans, on the line of water supply, electrical services, gas supply, fire protection and fire safety requirements, etc”.
Measures to stop the monopoly of any particular telecom service provider within apartments or real estate projects are present in the recommendations.
The Onus of Installation
The telecom regulator said that installing wireless equipment is the responsibility of telecom or internet service licence holders but if the deployment is carried out on behalf of the property management then “the property manager shall be responsible for ensuring that the licensee compulsorily gives access to such active wireless equipment to all service providers on fair, transparent, non-discriminatory, and non-exclusive manner.”
To review the existing standards and procedures of DCI for Buildings, the regulator has recommended assigning the task to the Bureau of Indian Standards.
TRAI recommended that “The Authority recommends that the ‘National Building Code Sectional Committee’ constituted under NBC, also referred as Guiding Committee should include members from the Department of Telecommunication and Telecom Industry”.
For the unaware, the regulatory body TRAI was set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India.
It consists of a chairperson and not more than two full-time members and not more than two part-time members. The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI.
