In another effort to accelerate the rollout of cellular services across the vast country, an effort that has become even more urgent in light of the imminent arrival of 5G, the Indian Ministry of Telecommunications (DoT) has again changed the rules regarding right of way (RoW).

Given the possibility that 5G will require more small cells and more use of street furniture, the right of way application procedure for small cells has been simplified. The telecommunications license holder will be able to use the road infrastructure to deploy telecommunications equipment for a fee: Rs 150 (US$1.88) per year in rural areas and Rs 300 (US$3.76) per year in urban areas.

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There will also be a nominal fee of Rs 100 per year (USD 1.25) for installing aerial fiber optics on street furniture. However, operators do not need government approval for agreements with private owners for the installation of telecommunications infrastructure. Application fees have also been simplified.

In addition, IT systems of all states or union territories and key infrastructure ministries such as railways and roads have been integrated into the central ROW portal to prepare India for 5G rollout.

Called Sugam Sancharcentralized RoW portal provides a single interface for ISPs, mobile operators, and infrastructure providers to request road rights approval (RoW) for infrastructure installations

This continuous improvement appears to have led to a reduction in the average RoW application approval time, from 435 days in 2019 to 16 days in July 2022 according to Telecommunications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Welcoming the changes, SP Kochhar, Managing Director of the operator-led COAI Group, was quoted by the Indian Economic Times as saying: “Access to existing infrastructure, deployment of new infrastructure and required costs are key challenges for the telecommunications sector. The sector has always faced what it is now. will be relaxed with new rules on roads”,

This seems like a big achievement on the part of the DoT, especially considering that in early 2020, many states just ignored The right rules of the road.