MoITT Finalises Draft Of 1st Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework

Network expansion is significantly hampered by the high CAPEX and OPEX liabilities associated with the deployment of telecom networks for operators.

MoITT Finalises Draft Of 1st Telecom Infrastructure Sharing Framework

The first-ever Infrastructure Sharing Framework has been finalised by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom (MoITT). Stakeholder comments are welcome on the draught, which has been posted on the MoITT website. The draught will be sent to the federal cabinet for approval with any necessary changes after 15 days of feedback (if any).

The sharing of telecom network components and related non-electronic and physical infrastructure is generally referred to by the broad term “telecom infrastructure.” The concept of infrastructure sharing promotes resource optimization through better asset utilisation, avoiding duplication of infrastructure, saving time and cost, and accelerating service rollouts.

Network expansion is significantly hampered by the high CAPEX and OPEX liabilities associated with the deployment of telecom networks for operators.

The difficulties faced by licenced operators must also be addressed, including delays in the rollout of new network infrastructure caused by the acquisition of right-of-ways (RoW), operational costs, maintenance costs, and average revenue per user (ARPU).

Regardless of the level of sharing, infrastructure sharing enables operators to concentrate on the competition in the service layer. Additionally, it will promote both domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI).

Operators can share whole or strategically passive elements of their network to share infrastructure costs while providing acceptable performance. Furthermore, these savings can facilitate mobile operators’ migration to next-generation technologies.

Telecom infrastructure sharing is a way for different telecom operators or service providers to share infrastructure resources, such as cell towers, fiber optic cables, and data centers, in order to reduce costs and improve network coverage and capacity.

Infrastructure sharing can be beneficial for both operators and consumers. Operators can reduce their costs by sharing infrastructure, while consumers can benefit from improved network coverage and capacity.

However, there are also potential challenges to telecom infrastructure sharing, such as the need to coordinate operations between different operators and the possibility of reduced competition.