Verizon on New Telecom Policy 2018
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released the draft National Telecom Policy 2018(NTP-18) on May 2, 2018, for public comments.
Ms. Priya Mahajan, Head of Asia Pacific Public Policy & Regulatory Counsel, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, said: "The Department of Telecommunications (“DoT”) released its much-awaited draft National Telecom Policy 2018(NTP-18) on May 2, 2018, for public comments. The policy is re-named as National Digital Communications Policy (“NDCP”) 2018, keeping with the digital technology trends.
"We believe the objective of the policy is to help strengthen India’s market competitiveness by harnessing the new and emerging digital technologies and platforms.
"It is promising to see policy focus on review of the regulatory framework, for a dynamic, future-proof and transparent regime that aims to reduce regulatory barriers and burdens to promote and protect level playing field and competition, leading to innovation and investment. In particular, the focus on reducing regulatory fees and the concept of pass-through revenues in line with principles of input line credit, and reduction in the cost of international bandwidth by rationalizing access charges is a welcome move.
"One of the key focuses of the policy is to enable next-generation technologies and services via investment, innovation thereby accelerating India’s transition to industry 4.0. However, we note that emerging technologies such as Software Defined Networks (SDNs) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), Unified Communications - which is essential for reaping the full benefits of convergence - don’t find a mention in draft telecom policy.
"These network technologies underpin all IT services have a transformational impact on society and therefore should be mentioned as key to achieving the missions as mentioned in the policy i.e., Connect India, Propel India and Secure India. For the creation of a robust digital ecosystem, suitable policy and regulatory interventions are expected from the government to foster the development and growth of these technologies.
"The revised policy should reflect the dynamics of the evolving technology landscape in a manner, which increases customer choice, affordability, competition and enhances the digital ecosystem."
