Page 131 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2022

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

DoT Updates RoW Rules to Accelerate 5G Rollout

India’s Department of Telecommunications thorities for the installation of telecom in- submitted via the DoT’s portal and adjusted
(DoT) has amended the rules concerning frastructure over private property as long the administrative fees related to RoW. Dis-
Right of Way (RoW) with the intention of as written notice is given beforehand along cussing the amendment, Telecom Minister
accelerating 5G network construction. The with certification from a structural engi- Ashwini Vaishnaw said: ‘5G requires more
amendment introduces new rules that set neer attesting to the structural safety of the towers, poles, fiber and bandwidth. This
out the conditions and fees for the use of building where the mobile tower or pole is to will require the telecom industry to launch
street furniture, the installation of small be established. In addition, the amendment more telecom infrastructure.’ The official
cells and telephone lines and establishes clarified elements of the existing rules, went on to note that the introduction of
that permission is not required from au- which require that all RoW applications are the central portal for RoW had led to a sub-
stantial reduction in approval time for ap-
plications in the areas where the rules have
been fully implemented, from 435 days
in 2019 to 16 days in July 2022. The min-
ister also claimed that 5G services would
be launched in major cities by October this
year, following which deployments would
be accelerated to cover sub-urban and
rural areas. The Economic Times quotes
SP Kochhar, DG of industry group Cellular
Operators Association of India (COAI) as
saying of the amendment: ‘Access to the
existing infrastructure, deployment of new
infrastructure and the high cost involved in
it were major challenges the telecom sec-
tor always came across, which will now be
eased down with the new RoW rules.’

3.5GHz 5G Permitted in Four More State Capitals; Other Locations Postponed

Until 28 October

Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia Nacional er state capitals to 28 October, as suggested by the government’s
de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel) has confirmed that the country’s Group for the Implementation of Solutions for Interference Prob-
national mobile operators are able to launch Standalone (SA) 5G lems (Grupo de Acompanhamento da Implantacao das Solucoes
services using the 3.5GHz frequency band in a further four state para os Problemas de Interferencia, GAISPI). Brasilia was the first
capitals a week ahead of schedule. Florianopolis (Santa Catarina), location green-lit for SA 5G, with Vivo, TIM and Claro all switching
Palmas (Tocantins), Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro) and Vitoria on services during the week commencing 4 July. Belo Horizonte,
(Espirito Santo) all received the green light on Thursday 18 August Joao Pessoa, Porto Alegre were next in line (29 July), with Sao Pau-
and 5G services can be switched on from Monday 22 August. In lo following on 4 August, and Curitiba, Goiania and Salvador joining
a related development, Anatel’s Board of Directors has approved them on 16 August.
the postponement of the release date for 5G frequencies in all oth-

Macau Readies 5G Sale After 2 Operators Line Up

The Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) part. The CTT explained the next step will be to open the bidding
indicated two operators expressed interest in participating in a today (15 August). Efforts will then be made to carry out the award
5G spectrum auction, although four licenses to operate the next- and licensing processes during 2022. Commercial 5G services
generation technology networks are potentially up for grabs. are expected to be introduced in early 2023. CTM claims its 5G
Macau Telecommunications Company (CTM) and China Telecom network has been fully operational since June 2021. Meanwhile,
(Macau) each submitted their proposals by the deadline of 12 mobile operators in Hong Kong launched 5G services in Q2 2020.
August. SmarTone and 3 Macau appear to have opted not to take
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