Affordable Internet, AI & 5G: This Is The Vision Of New Telecom Policy For India!

By the end of March, 2018, Indian Govt. will reveal our new telecom policy, which is going to be futuristic and focused on Digital India.

As per primary reports coming in, Telecom Ministry, under which formation of the new telecom policy is taking place, has focused on ensuring Internet access for all 130 crore Indians.

Besides, focus on disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence, along with next wave of technological advancement like 5G is also there.

This means that we may witness some major fireworks, when it comes to Technology and Telecom in India.

The Vision: Internet For All 130 Crore Indians

As per Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, Indian Govt.’s vision and mission is to provide Internet access for all, within feasible and affordable price.

He said, “Internet to all will be the basic principle and to give a boost to telecom manufacturing would be a key factor of the new telecom policy,”

The plan is simple: Enable Internet access to every Indian, and then boost local manufacturing of devices so that digital vision also generates jobs.

In 2014, immediately after coming to power, PM Modi had kickstarted the ambitious Digital India plan, and allocated a budget of Rs 1 lakh crore for the same.

Under this vision, every village, tehsil and district in India was planned to be connected with high speed broadband Internet.

And 2018’s new Telecom Policy will make sure that this vision is fulfilled.

The Vision: More Revenues Powered By Disruptive Technologies

Within the new policy framework for Indian telecom industry, Govt. is planning to include AI powered Digital India, aided with 5G network capability and Internet of Things eco-system.

The Minister said, “The new policy will be forward-looking and current challenges of new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence will be taken care of,”

If properly implemented, this can be the most forward-looking, and progressive telecom policy ever created in India.

In an interview in the month of July, the Minister had said that Internet of Things and AI will be, in future, used for better e-Governance, and for providing better education to all.

And it is not only mere implementation of technological framework via Digital India and Telecom Policy; revenue generation is also equally considered, which will lead to more job creation.

As per estimates shared the Minster, introduction of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things within National Telecom Policy will boost overall revenues by 20%, pan-India.

As per the findings of a study conducted by ICRIER & Broadband India Forum, it was found that 17% increase in Internet users in India resulted in direct increase of Rs 7 lakh crore in GDP, out of which Rs 1.4 lakh crore was solely due to internet based app-services.

Besides, focus is already on to improve the current telecom infrastructure, and to optimize the current services.

For instance, in order to minimize drop calls, Ministry officials have met with top executives of telecom firms, and they have ‘collectively committed’ to deploy 60,000 new base transceiver stations at an expense of Rs 12,000 crore in the next couple of years.

The new Telecom Policy, which will be introduced in March, 2018, certainly sounds promising. Do share your opinions by commenting right here!