DoT to release guidelines for M2M, PLI for telecom and networking soon: DoT Secretary

Speaking at the Voice&Data Telecom Leadership Forum, DoT Secretary Anshu Prakash said the department will seek industry feedback on the draft guidelines soon.

The Chairman DCC and Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash today announced that the Government of India will soon be coming out with guidelines for machine to machine (M2M) communication. He also said the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will be holding an interface with the industry to share with them the draft guideline and get their feedback.

Delivering the keynote address at the virtual Voice&Data 20th Telecom Leadership Forum, Prakash highlighted that the increase in M2M and internet of things (IoT) application has made it necessary for the country to draft new frameworks and regulations to deal with it.

“The advent of 5G and Industry 4.0 will help to leverage emerging digital technologies and telecom infrastructure to achieve the next level of growth and advancements and the dream of a connected India. Hence, the future of this decade, of digital technologies and its proliferation, penetration, application is inextricably linked to the future of telecom which in turn is linked to what the telecom leadership gives to the sector,” the secretary said.

He further stated that with businesses and individuals engaging more in online activities, new threats of cybercrimes are emerging making it critical for the stakeholders to actively concentrate on finding solutions to prevent, detect, rectify and mitigate the impacts of such crimes.

Telecom secretary also announced that to facilitate the rollout of 5G in the country, the department will soon be coming out with a 10-year spectrum roadmap, including the sectoral allocations. He also mentioned that the DoT is also likely to release with 15 days the guideline for the PLI Scheme for telecom and networking products that was approved by the Cabinet earlier.

Talking about the National Broadband Mission, Prakash said that it was essential to roll it for proliferation and penetration of digital infrastructure across the country – both wireline and wireless. “I would like to take advantage of this forum to assure all the delegates and participants that DoT will be open, receptive, proactive, and supportive to the telecom sector. We were so in the last few years and we will further accelerate this in the coming years. We will welcome new ideas and new initiatives. And we trust that all of you, as telecom leaders will approach us with such ideas,” he said.

Outlining the importance and crucial role of telecom to enable the digital dream of India, the telecom secretary said that as the new decade is set to witness the widespread impact of the impending digital revolution through new-age technologies like AR/VR, and IoT and their applications, telecom will transform our daily lives – the way we think, we communicate, we interact, we work, we make choices, how we influence others, the way we study, we shop, and we entertain ourselves.

“This will also result in new types and forms of business models across industries,” he said, adding, that it is the telecom that served as the backbone of the entire digital revolution. “Without a revolution of telecom and telecom infrastructure, none of these technologies will be able to perform the way we would like them to.”

The telecom secretary also pointed out that although the decade started with the global pandemic due to COVID-19 and its unprecedented impact in India and across the world, the new age digital technologies and telecom infrastructure and services has enabled the world to keep afloat by remaining connected, execute governance and maintain business continuity. It has also helped the doctors and frontline health workers to treat us and take care of us against this deadly virus, Prakash said.

Earlier, the telecom secretary congratulated CyberMedia and Voice&Data for organizing the 20th edition of the Telecom Leadership Forum. “When we talk about leadership it includes not only the senior management but also the frontline telecom workers – the teams deployed by different telecom service providers, infrastructure service providers, internet service providers, and the entire ecosystem. How they perform will have a direct impact on the overall performance of the sector,” he said.