Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for IT and Telecom, promised reforms in 5G spectrum pricing and said spectrum auctions will take place in this fiscal year, with the data to be announced soon. He said that the government was “aware and alive to the challenges faced by the telecommunications industry”. Prasad was speaking at the third edition of the India Mobile Congress 2019, which was organised by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRSP/status/1183628360662093825?ref_src=twsrctfwtwcamptweetembedtwterm1183628360662093825&ref_url=httpswww.republicworld.comtechnology-newsmobileimc-2019-ravi-shankar-prasad-promises-reforms-in-spectrum-pricing.html Easing ROW rules: The minister said he would soon meet with state IT Ministers and other stakeholders to address concerns around Right of Way (ROW) rules, which are considered to be the key enablers for deployment of optic fibre and mobile tower infrastructure in India. It's worth noting that the ROW rules failed to include tower companies from seeking benefits under the rules as it stated that only a ‘telecom service licensee’ could avail the benefits, as per The Economic Times. What are the RoW rules?: It aims to rationalise administrative expenses across the country to a maximum of Rs 1000 per km for optic fibre, and a maximum of Rs 10, 000 per application for telecom towers. It also mandates the development of an electronic application process within one year of the roll-out of ROW rules, a single clearance window for application, a designation of nodal officers for appropriate authorities, and fast-tracking decisions on RoW permits. https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRSP/status/1183628604380536832?ref_src=twsrctfwtwcamptweetembedtwterm1183628604380536832&ref_url=httpswww.republicworld.comtechnology-newsmobileimc-2019-ravi-shankar-prasad-promises-reforms-in-spectrum-pricing.html Telecom operators raise issues, Jio asks for revision of 5G base price High…
