New Delhi: From installing solar panels at strategic telecom sites to strengthening road infrastructure, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a series of measures to help improve digital connectivity in remote parts of Himachal Pradesh.
In a report titled “Improving Telecom Connectivity/ Infrastructure in Remote and Far-flung Districts of Himachal Pradesh”, released Monday, the telecom regulator identified Lahaul & Spiti, Chamba, Kullu, and Mandi as the “worst-affected revenue districts” in the state.
Although the report doesn’t define the term, it’s understood to mean the districts that have the least internet and telecom connectivity and that generate the least revenue for the department.
In its report, which comes days after the Congress wrested power from the Bharatiya Janata Party in Himachal, TRAI said that the Union department of telecommunications (DoT) and the state government should ensure electricity connections within 15 days of receiving applications.
The report also suggested that road repair contractors should be held accountable for any damage to telecom connections. It further recommended that the DoT’s Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) division should fund the expenditure for building new networks.
USOF, which got statutory status in 2003, was established initially to provide access to “basic” telegraph services to people in remote and rural areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
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Covering ‘worst-affected revenue districts’
Apart from TRAI, the Himachal Pradesh department of information technology (DIT), local state government officials, telecom service providers, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), and local consumer representatives collectively contributed to the recommendations, the report said.
Following a gap analysis — an assessment of the core areas of discrepancies in connectivity — these stakeholders suggested that the “capital expenditure (CapEx) and operating expenditure (OpEx) required for providing telecom infrastructure and connectivity to the 25 uncovered villages falling under the three revenue districts of Lahaul & Spiti, Kullu and Chamba should be “funded by government through USOF”, the report said.
“It has been recommended that USOF should immediately include these 25 uncovered villages under its 20 per cent additional scope for providing 4G after carrying out a ground survey of the uncovered villages,” TRAI said in its recommendations, adding that it would draw up a detailed investment plan for this.
Electric connections, roads, new telecom infrastructure
The report emphasised that there was a need for central and state authorities to work together to address issues such as lack of electricity and damage to telecom networks in construction sites.
“DoT should take up with the state government to consider providing electricity to telecom sites on priority (within 15 days of connection request) at utility/industrial tariff,” the TRAI said in the report.
“DoT should also take up with the state government of HP to consider waiving off last mile installation charges for extending the electric connection to telecom sites in remote and hilly areas (including all locations in districts of Lahaul & Spiti, Mandi, Kullu, and Chamba),” the report said.
This, it added, “will facilitate the early roll-out of telecom services in these areas and will help to bridge the digital divide”.
Even at places where there are road constructions, the state government, as well as authorities such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), should ensure that contractors are held accountable for any damage, the report said.
TRAI has also suggested that the DoT, the ministry of new and renewable energy, and the Himachal Pradesh government should come up with a scheme to fund solar panel installations at “strategic telecom sites in remote hilly areas”.
“DoT should pursue it with state government, NHAI and BRO [Border Roads Organisation], that in all road construction, road widening or other related works prior coordination with TSPs [telecom service providers] should be done (through prior notice) and liability of [the] contractor for making payments for damages to telecom networks should be in-built in the contracts,” TRAI said.
DoT should also liaise with the state government to explore the possibility of constructing utility ducts in all future road widening and new road construction projects, the report said.
A utility duct is a passage built underground or above ground that houses utility lines for electricity, water supply, sewer functions, and communication lines.
“This will help in the quick rollout of all utility infrastructure, including telecom, in the state,” TRAI further added in its report.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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