A day after the week-long 5G spectrum auctions concluded on August 1, ASHWINI VAISHNAWthe Union minister of communications who is also in charge of railways, electronics and information technology, spoke exclusively to Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA on a range of issues concerning the outcome. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. How satisfied are you with the outcome of the 5G auction?
It has been a success and reflects the whole series of structural and procedural reform processes across the entire gamut of the telecom sector effected by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Before the auctions, all the estimates said we would get between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 lakh crore, but the numbers that have come—Rs 1.5 lakh crore—indicate that the industry is coming out of the deep troubles it had been facing.
Q. How quickly can we get 5G on our phones in India?
We are working in close synchronisation with the industry. Even before the auctions happened, we had requested them to start setting up the equipment all over the country as far as possible. Before mid-August, we should be able to allocate spectrum and then by setting up the equipment, tuning it, and getting it running, we should be able to roll out 5G by October.
“India’s telecommunication service is today among the most affordable. The trend is expected to continue for 5G as well”
Q. Globally, there have been safety concerns regarding 5G networks and the harmful effects of intense radiation on humans living in close proximity to it.
We should look at these things from good evidence and scientific data. I would say if the global standards are 100 for electromagnetic field (EMF) radiations, then the average EMF level in India is just 10, or a tenth of the global standards. Why should we have such low radiation levels when it basically hampers our ability to provide good quality services? So, while we definitely have a very safe and secure environment, we should also consider increasing the EMF rather than keeping it at the current level to improve the quality of our telecom services.
Q. A few airlines in the US had protested the installation of 5G, saying it could interfere with their aircraft’s electronic equipment. Will we have a similar problem in India?
That is a problem specific to the US because some of the frequencies they had employed for 5G could impact the older aircraft using it. We in India and, in fact, most of the countries have left a significant gap between frequencies used by aircraft equipment and that which will be used by 5G.
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Q. Security concerns were also raised earlier about purchasing 5G technology from Huawei. How have you addressed that?
When PM Modiji announced the Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme, one of the targets set was to develop the 5G network end-to-end indigenously. That included not only building and designing the core network but also the network management system, radio connections and everything to make it work. The indigenous 5G network has now been developed by C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) in collaboration with a whole set of Indian private entrepreneurs who came forward to put their expertise and resources into it. This is going to be a game-changer. They are not only going to install these in India but are also getting international orders now.
Q. Before the India-made 5G network gets readied, how will you ensure that companies like Reliance Jio and Airtel, who are tying up with foreign networks, meet our security concerns?
These companies have a very well-defined and trusted source regime. It is a regime that is very scientifically built and very neatly defined, so any equipment that doesn’t fulfil our trusted regime framework will not be used.
Q. Will people in India be able to afford 5G-enabled cell phones and the tariffs?
When the 5G ecosystem develops, handset manufacturers will ramp up production. India is today the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world and close to 25-30 per cent of the new mobile phones are already 5G-enabled. Costs of handsets are coming down every year and 5G handsets are available for Rs 15,000 and are expected to go down further. As regards tariffs, India’s telecommunication service is today among the most affordable. The trend is expected to continue for 5G as well.
“Costs of handsets are coming down every year; 5G handsets are available for Rs 15,000 and are expected to go down further”
Q. But we have had issues even with 4G with regard to quality of services, with frequent call drops and inability to connect.
Three things combine to form an ecosystem that gives good quality of services. First is the availability of spectrum. In the auction that concluded recently, a large number of gaps that were there in the spectrum for many operators were filled. Second, we need a significant number of towers—the reforms initiated by PM Modiji have resulted in tower permission coming in a few hours compared to a few months earlier. The third is extending fiberisation and the PM’s Gati Shakti portal ensures that all infrastructure will be planned and coordinated. All states have signed up. These could see public service ducts along railway lines and highways, which could speed things up considerably.
Q. Is the ghost of the 2G scam influencing how you decide on pricing spectrum?
Absolutely not. The Modi government has clarity on policy and our goal is for inclusive growth and to serve the poorest of the poor. We have evolved a model based on the fact that India has a huge number of subscribers, which in turn ensures our spectrum pricing is very adequate. Some countries have made spectrum available for practically free, but given our realities and our economic, legal and social set-up, the pricing is reasonable.
Q. Finally, why are you pumping in so much money—Rs 1.64 lakh crore—to revive the public sector entity BSNL?
BSNL is a very important stabilising force in the telecom market. Telecom is a strategic sector that affects the country’s security in a big way. Almost all the critical defence telecom infrastructure is done by BSNL. Second, our government’s philosophy is to ensure that all be included in the digital journey, and there should be no divide. BSNL is serving the poorest of the poor areas, whether villages in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or the Northeastern states and the border areas, where it is unviable for other telecom companies to operate. Third, when we have a new kind of equipment, including 5G, being made in India, we will need one large platform that can test all these things and help us scale up. We can use BSNL to do so. Fourthly, despite all the issues, BSNL still has a loyal subscriber base of over 100 million. Our philosophy is that BSNL must become a vibrant, tech-savvy company that acts as an important market-stabilising force in a highly competitive and agile telecom sector.
Q. Somewhat the same arguments were used to keep Air India afloat as a PSU for a long while before it was finally privatised.
We have a clearly laid-out business plan for BSNL. We are providing the basic capital required for upgrading the networks and providing the spectrum it needs. We are confident of its success.