Government seeks to amend telecom laws to enable seamless transition to 5G: Report

Considering that the 5G networks are likely to be rolled out soon, the government has engaged National Law University (NLU), Delhi to review and suggest amendments to the Indian Telegraph Act (1885) and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933) to simplify them and to bring them in-line with the current telecom industry trends, Mint reported on Monday.

“We have engaged the National Law University (NLU), Delhi, to study the Acts and suggest changes and amendments that are necessary due to passage of time and advent of new technologies,” telecom secretary Anshu Prakash was quoted as saying.

During the four-month-long deliberations, the NLU in collaboration with stakeholders will work towards finalizing draft legislation that will include machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, Internet of Things (IoT), and other key elements of 5G.

“The mandate will include easy regulation, promoting innovation and proliferation of technologies, decriminalization of actions considered to be offenses. Most importantly, the new legislation will require provisions that relate to M2M communication and IoT,” Prakash said.

“The current legislation regulates the interface of persons with each other and with machines. However, for interfaces between a machine and machine, there are gaps,” he further told the publication.

Additionally, the DoT is seeking to amend the said laws to enable a seamless transition to 5G while supporting PM Modi’s vision of a Digital India.

The team at NLU which will be headed by the vice-chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao will be overseeing the draft legislation and will be advised by experts from technical and economic backgrounds.

As of now, the team has identified issues pertaining to net neutrality, traffic management of differential pricing, and consumer rights.

They are also working on draft laws for telecom infrastructure and right of way (RoW) rules, as well as spectrum allocation, network and security requirements, including vendor management, authentication for access to sensitive information and systems, and product suppliers may also see some amendments, according to the report.

In the next two weeks, the team will hold meetings with civil society organizations, consumer groups, and legal experts following which a draft paper will be put up to seek public comments.

Lastly, the team has been tasked with identifying clauses that are “unnecessary and add compliance burden”.

In the two-day held between March 1 to March 2, the government netted Rs 77,814 crore from 855.60MHz or nearly 37.06% out of the total 2308.80MHz put for auction. Premium 700MHz and the 2500MHz bands however did not receive any bids owing to high prices.

“The fact that in 700 MHz no bid has come is something we will see. But there is also a distinct possibility that now with 5G technology that’s going to come sooner or later….In 700 MHz, the 5G ecosystem is also developing as it is developing in the mid-band 3.3-3.6 GHz. If 700 MHz is not sold in this auction, nothing prevents it from being sold in the next auction,” Prakash had said during a post-auction conference.