With the 5G spectrum auction out of the way and the service providers preparing the networks for 5G, the Government of India has finally amended the Indian Telegraph Right of Way (RoW) Rules, 2016, to facilitate the deployment of small cells.
5G demands network densification, which means that small cells are going to be an integral part of 5G networks. The RoW application procedure for deploying small cells has now been simplified and allows service providers to use street infrastructure to deploy the network at a nominal cost of just INR150 ($1.80) per year in rural areas and INR300 ($3.70) in urban areas.
As per the new rules, telecom licensees can enter into an agreement with private property owners without requiring any approval from the government for installing telecom infrastructure, including towers, poles or optical fiber.
This addresses a major problem faced by the telecom operators as they required permission from several government authorities to install towers and lay optical fiber. This led to delays in deploying gear and was one of the reasons for the low optical fiber network in the country. What added to the complexity was that the rules, as well as charges to the government, were different in different parts of the country making it tough for the service providers to accelerate the deployment.
The government demonstrated its seriousness to address the problems faced by telcos by doing away with the administrative fee charged by the Central Government to install poles on the land owned by it. Further, the states and the Union Territories will not be able to charge more than INR1000 ($12.56) for installing a pole and INR1000 ($12.56) per kilometer for laying overground optical fiber.
“The amendment in the RoW rules will help incorporate provisions on small cell deployment, and ensure uniform implementation of RoW rules across states, union territories, and municipal bodies. This will further reduce approval timelines for small cells to 15-30 days, and no SACFA approvals would be required for small cells,” says the recent note by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) welcoming the new RoW guidelines.
The Telecom Minister highlighted that the average time required to set up a telecom infrastructure has now come down from 343 days to just 16 days because of the changes in the rules.
Telcos design small-cell powered 5G network
Vodafone Idea is conducting a trial to use street furniture, including traffic signal poles, street light poles, road signage and bus shelters for small cell and aerial fiber deployment in Bhopal in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is part of a pilot conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The learnings from this trial will be used for other 5G and smart city projects.
In the past, Bharti Airtel has conducted a trial of small deployment. Reliance Jio is also in the process of developing 5G small cells.
“Jio’s 5G stack is 100% homegrown and a comprehensive 5G solution that is fully cloud-native, software-defined and digitally managed. This 5G stack encompasses radio and core network, software architecture and hardware equipment, including outdoor small cells," said a Jio press release issued earlier this year.
TRAI has also issued a consultation paper on the "Use of Street Furniture for Small Cell and Aerial Fiber Deployment."
“The use of higher frequency bands for 5G services would require that macro cells be complemented with extensive deployment of small cells so as to support all kinds of uses and applications, at all locations," said TRAI's paper. "In longer term a full-fledged 5G network will consist of Macro Base Stations, working in low/mid frequency band, to provide umbrella coverage and many Small Base Stations, working in mid/high-frequency band to provide ultra-high broadband capacity, coverage in hard-to-reach areas and enabling low latency services.”
India has been slightly behind in the adoption of small cells because of a lack of backhaul, uninterrupted power supply and clarity in terms of business models. This is the reason why there is hardly any deployment of small cells for 4G in the country. However, the 5G networks are likely to be very different from 4G networks in India with small cells likely to be an integral part of them.