From the Telecom Circles 7

The Economic Times, New Delhi / Gurgaon, Saturday, 18 March 2017 Trai Chief Calls for Boosting Data Connectivity Profile RS Sharma says making data affordable is a key concern for telecom sector regulator The sector regulator, he said, has The sector regulator, further, sa- Our Bureau already recommended deploy- id that telecom companies compla- ment of cable TV infrastructure ining of financial strife are run by New Delhi: The telecom regulator for beefing up broadband, especi- sharp businessmen, indicating has called for aggressively boos- ally since 100 million homes alrea- that players in the game know the ting 's data connectivity pro- dy have cable connections. More risks related to such a sector, and file as the country lags way behind recently, it has advocated freeing need to deal with it accordingly. many South Asian countries on up new spectrum bands to ring in “They are all sharp businessmen this score. affordable WiFi services in public and will need to take decisions kee- “Indian telcos have delivered ubi- places, and in turn, boost broad- ping their business interests in quitous voice connectivity at af- band penetration. mind,” Sharma said during an in- fordable rates, but data connectivi- Furthermore, teraction with the audience. ty remains a pain-point with the Trai has been Sharma said the The sector regulator’s comments country ranked at 138 among the proactively Department of came at a time when Reliance Jio 175-odd countries, which is even making Electronics & IT Infocomm’s free voice and data below many African countries and suggestions (DeitY) and the te- services have compelled incum- (From L) Bharti Airtel global CIO Harmeen Mehta, Vodafone India director (regulatory, external affairs and CSR) P island nations,” Telecom Regula- to the govt to lecom department bent carriers to cut tariffs, which Balaji, IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan, ETNOW moderator, industry veteran Sandip Das and Lava International tory Authority of India (Trai) cha- make data (DoT) were jointly in turn, has impacted their reve- CMD Hari Om Rai PHOTOS BY ASHWANI NAGPAL & PREM SINGH irman R S Sharma said at the ET affordable , initiating “a pilot nue and profits, and forced conso- Telecom India Mobile Congress on Sharma said program to offer lidation in the debt-laden telecoms Friendly Rivalry Aruna Sundararajan admits consolidation and data are Friday. affordable WiFi industry. In the South Asian region, he sa- ty infrastructure is not an intrac- connectivity with free localised Sharma said Trai is also close to triggering cut-throat competition, but calls for some collaboration id, India’s data connectivity ran- table problem, and there must be content”. finalising revised `Quality of Ser- king is even below Sri Lanka, Viet- scope for every technology to exist Responding to a query on high vice’ (QoS) norms for voice servi- nam and , and way be- and operate,” said Sharma. spectrum costs in India, Sharma ces, with an aim to cut down on call low the 46% of average data con- Asserting that the national bro- said the regulator had advocated a drops. Ready to Refine Policies to nectivity level worldwide. adband project BharatNet would "pay-as-you-go model" for spec- Going forward, the sector regula- Accordingly, the sector regulator, see significant acceleration in the trum payouts to ease fiscal pains tor, he said, may also suggest that he said, has been proactively ma- coming months, Sharma said the for telcos. mobile virtual network operators king suggestions to the govern- project could play a key role in bo- “I don’t have an immediate for- (MVNOs) be allowed to partner Meet Sector Needs: IT Secy ment to make data affordable, osting India’s overall data connec- mula to reduce the price of spec- with multiple telcos, which would especially as it believes that rely- tivity profile if implemented thro- trum, but we suggested the defer- give consumers more choice for ing solely on wireless connectivity ugh the public-private partners- red payments model to reduce cost voice and data services and also al- Vodafone India, said that a lot of ve to be tailored to enable large would be unwise. “Beefing up the hip (PPP) model as suggested by pressure on telcos,” said the Trai lowing telcos more options to mo- Our Bureau growth is yet to take place and the- number of WiFi hotspots. We will country’s digital data connectivi- Trai. chairman. netise unused airwaves. re has to be a good "balance" betwe- look forward to the industry's in- New Delhi: Admitting that the te- en new services and existing ones. puts," she said. lecom industry is going through a “There has to be a good balance ET had reported in January that tough phase, with consolidation for consumers to have new services the government is embarking on a driven by fierce competition and and the industry to continue to in- project to provide free WiFi hots- Industry Corridors Abuzz with 5G rise of data over voice, Aruna Sun- vest in things which will have sha- pots at more than 1,000 gram pan- dararajan, secretary, ministry of reholder return," he said. chayats to provide last-mile con- electronics and information tech- Congratulating the Telecom Re- nectivity in far-flung areas, which VIRTUAL REALITY Phone makers say the country is at the cusp of another digital revolution nology, said the government is gulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is seen as the biggest impediment open to "tweaking and refining" its for coming out with a paper on the towards a digital economy. ve, CTO of Aircel. ned that WiFi can coexist with 4G policies to "address challenges". ease of doing business, Sundarara- Apart from providing internet Our Bureau But it was also agreed that the rol- and the focus should be on last-mi- Sundararajan was speaking at connectivity for mass use, the pro- lout of new bands will not ring the le connectivity with WiFi being the Economic Times India Mobile gramme seeks to enable delivery of New Delhi: India is yet to comple- death knell of 3G. They said that critical for the same.The industry Congress in New Delhi on Friday. services such as health and educa- te its 4G rollout across the country, even though 5G will become a rea- heads also detailed out how WiFi "We do recognise that the telecom tion. Called Digital Village, the pilot but telecom operators and indust- lity, one can’t discount the role 3G can be made a game-changer and industry is facing a set of challeng- project will initially be rolled out in ry players are already thinking of plays even now. Operators have in- the technological advancements es -- there is a consolidation happe- as many as 1,050 gram panchayats. the next wave -- 5G. The telecom vested $18 billion on 3G, and is still they are experimenting with. ning due to the fiercely competiti- Sundararajan also said that the phone makers said the country is integral to many parts of India. Munish Seth, regional head ve environment and data is beco- key driver of adoption of Internet at the cusp of another digital revo- Dave said one will continue to APAC, Connectivity Solutions of ming the new currency," said Sun- in the country will be the local lution, and the industry is gearing work on both 2G and 3G in India be- Facebook, said fibre needs to dararajan, adding one needs to language content. The ministry of up for the 5G network rollout. cause no matter what the data re- strengthen for better connectivity ensure that the existing players jan said that her ministry would al- IT is working on a project to enable Chandan Kumar, director-marke- quirements are, one uses voice as a despite 4G. "We expect people to co- EY global telecom leader Prashant continue to grow without shutting so like to discuss with the telecom mobile application incubators and ting and integrated solutions for feature lot more and it will conti- me to public hotspots, consume Singhal at the event the door on new technologies. industry on how to enable the ease around 12 of them will be coming Huawei India, said that apps are nue to be valuable. and go back. We have to create soci- She requested the players to com- of doing business in manufactu- up over the next 12 months. being developed keeping the next The telecom industry is going al value here. The technology has Technology looks far away, but it pete, but at the same time collabo- ring. "We have to manufacture not Talking about the "disruption" phase of technology in mind. through a consolidation phase, to be low cost. Soon, we should be will come faster than anticipated." rate with each other. "That’s the just for India but for the global mar- which has been caused by the No- 5G will bring the consumer into and industry leaders discussed its making this commercial," said The panel also discussed the im- name of the game. Despite the fact kets as well," she said. vember 8 demonitisation exercise the realms of virtual reality; auto- impact on the telecom sector. They Seth. portance of compatibility betwe- that there are 110 crore mobiles in Driving home the point that the and the move towards the digital mated cars and even surgeries can agreed that there will be redun- There was a mention of how 4G en India and Bharat. "We have to India, there is large enough room country needs to solve the connec- economy thereafter, Sundararajan be performed online, said indust- dancies, a bit of a slowdown initi- will become the backbone of con- create content for public. As we are for everyone to grow." tivity challenge, Sundararajan sa- said that there’s no other industry ry chiefs at the ET Telecom India ally, but it will eventually benefit nectivity. Shubhajit Sen, CMO, Mi- trying to provide on the supply si- While addressing a panel discus- id that India has only 30,000-32,000 other than telecom which touches Mobile Congress. “For all this, spe- the industry as it will learn to mo- cromax, said, "It took some three de, we have to look into the demand sion on new business drivers and WiFi hotspots when there’s a need a billion lives, and therefore it is ed and quality will be the key and netise and make the operators pro- years for 3G devices to capture the side as well. People need broad- challengers, P Balaji, director - re- for 8 million such hotspots in the best suited to take forward the digi- one needs to have investment from vide the best customer experience. market, but eight months for 4G de- band for entertainment too," said gulatory, external affairs & CSR, country. "Government policies ha- tal agenda. operators as well," said Sameer Da- The industry leaders also recko- vices to cover 70-75% of the market. Sudhir Gupta, secretary of TRAI. Escalating the Battle Sadhguru, Isha Foundation Fresh from electoral victories, a resurgent BJP prepares to take on the Trinamool Congress for political supremacy in West Flux is for Bengal Bengal. Madhuparna Das reports Saturday Feature Freedom

ith its record victory in the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, the Bharatiya Nothing in the outside world is certain, that’s a fact. a situation not only impacts your life, but another thou- Janata Party is poised It’s uncertain and that’s what makes it challenging. sand lives. Once you grow, the challenges will naturally to push forward in West Uncertainty means things are changing; in other grow; there’s no question about it. But if you want to Bengal, one of the states in words there is no limbo. If you are walking fast, every get into a jockey’s place where you want to handle the the country that the party step is new terrain. This new terrain is what you are horse ; i f you want to handle a situation, no matter how has been unable to breach on its own. calling ‘uncertainty’ right now. For those seeking op- large, the first thing you have to do is equip yourself. If WIn the aftermath of the assembly election results portunity, uncertainty is the best time. Those who have I can teach you a way with which you can create a stable announced on March 11, both the BJP and the rul- a vision will make it a possibility; those who don’t, will and blissful chemistry within yourself, your ability to ing Trinamool Congress in West Bengal are wait- look at it as a problem. But, because you are in a con- deal with all the variety of ups and downs in life can be ing and watching to see who strikes first. The state stant state of compulsive reaction in your mind, you greatly, greatly enhanced. How? With . is a prime example of tit-for-tat politics, of cases are seeking certainty. Yoga gives you this possibility that if you simply sit and counter-cases filed swiftly against each other. Certainty is a state of limbo. If there is certainty there here, there is a little space between you and your body, The indications are that the BJP will now use is status quo, isn’t it? Status quo in a business, political there is a little space between you and your mind, and its power and clout to fast forward investiga- or social situation means nothing changes; nothing there is a little space between you and the world. Once tions into scams uncovered in the state. The evolves. By seeking certainty, ultimately, you are pitch- you create this space within you; once you know what BJP state and central leadership are waiting ing for stagnation. If things are stagnant, you will get is you and what isn’t; that is the end of suffering. When to see what prog ress is made in the Rose Val ley bored. If things are happening rapidly, then you don’t there is no fear of suffering, you will be able to look at and Saradha financial scams – even prodding have the balance to handle it. So, the problem is not with everything with utmost clarity and address every issue central investigative agencies into action. uncertainty; the problem is your interiority has become to the best of your intelligence and capability. Situations Two Trinamool Congress MPs, including the uncertain. If we have to fix the whole world for you to be will never overwhelm you. Lok Sabha parliamentary party leader, Sudip peaceful, that’s never going to happen. What we have to Bandyopadhyay, are already in custody in con- Sangh and fringe Hindu groups that are said to do instead is fix your interiority. What do we mean by 112 WAYS TO REACH YOUR IMMEDIATE AND ULTIMATE nection with the scams. The BJP is taking on the have helped increase the party’s vote share in that? It means, if your interiority is not compulsive, you WELL-BEING The Calcutta High Court ordered the Central TMC on three major issues — elections held after 2014. will handle every situation to the best of your ability. But when I say yoga, I don’t mean yoga in a studio in Bureau of Investigation on Friday to conduct a pre- The absence of a strong opposition in the state May be you can’t handle it like somebody else, but you or LA or on television. Yoga has to be ap- liminary enquiry into the Narada sting operation corruption, non-development is in the BJP’s favour. Over the past few elections will handle it to the best of your ability, that’s about it. proached in a comprehensive way. Yoga offers a system- case, which showed TMC ministers allegedly ac- in West Bengal, support for the Left Front, which You won’t suffer every situation you come atic way of working upon your interiority cepting bribes, and to submit its report in 72 hours. and political violence ruled the state for 34 years until 2011, has dwindled across simply because you are in a compul- by showing you 112 ways in which you can On the other side, chief minister Mamata and shifted in favour of the BJP. sive state of reaction. address your immediate and ultimate well- Banerjee’s TMC has been meticulously prepar- “They are filing politically motivated cases,” said In 2016, the BJP’s vote share increased to 29% from being. It is an entire science and technology. ing its moves. According to the state administra- Siddharth Nath Singh, national secretary of BJP about 16% in the by-election for the Coochbehar FIXING YOUR INTERIORITY If you invest 30-40 minutes a day, we can en- tion and BJ P members, as many as 12 national and in charge of Bengal. “One can see that there is a parliamentary seat in north Bengal and to about Interiority is a dimension by itself. It can- sure that in terms of vitality in your body and state BJP leaders have been booked in criminal huge difference between the cases filed against 16% from 7% in the Tamluk parliamentary con- not be crafted according to external situa- mind you will be at least 10 years younger in cases. More arrests may follow, likely beginning our functionaries in Bengal and the cases against stituency in south-western Bengal. tions -- there is certainty in life right now, the next six months. And your ability to cre- with a child-trafficking case in which the name of Trinamool Congress leaders being investigated by In the assembly election last year, in which so I will have one kind of interiority; now ate and manage things wi l l be such that what BJP MP Rupa Ganguly surfaced. the central investigating agencies.” Banerjee was returned to power, the BJP won three there is uncertainty, so I will have another you can do in 8 hours very easily you will do “They could have booked me in other cases,” Singh said the chit fund cases were not filed by seats and its vote share increased to about 10% from kind of interiority; people around me are it in 4-5 hours. If you are sleeping 8 hours a Ganguly told ET by phone. “But this is the joke of the BJP – they were filed by the common people 4% in 2011. The CPM’s vote share dipped to about sweet, so I’l l have one kind of interiority; people are nas- day, very easily you can bring it down to 5-6 hours a day eternity that I am being dragged into a child-traf- who were cheated. “Since the state police sup- 20% last year from 30% five years earlier. ty, so I will have another kind of interiority -- it doesn’t without stressing the body. So, 40 minutes of investment ficking case. This is absolute rubbish and we will pressed information and failed to act on the TMC leaders are confident of stemming the saf- work that way. It is not something you determine; it is will give you extra time, extra clarity, extra possibility, take legal recourse.” complaints, the Supreme Court directed the CBI fron tide before it sweeps Bengal. something that is. So, how to keep it? Well, there is no and definitely extra money. The police charged Union minister Babul Supriya, to take up investigation. But here, Bengal chief “We do not think that BJP has gained extra power way to keep it. If it is conscious, it won’t be compulsive. In other words, yoga is the technology that lets you a BJP MP from Asansol, in a case of outraging a minister is picking individuals and levelling in this election,” said Par tha Chatterjee, secretary See, you came here without any investment. And, you read the user’s manual of the most sophisticated gadget woman’s modesty, while the former vice president criminal charges,” he said. general of the TMC and a minister. “In two states, will leave without any capital in your hand. Whatever -- the human mechanism. If you know how to handle the of the BJP’s Bengal unit, Jay Prakash Majumdar, The BJP is taking on the TMC on three major is- they have formed minority/coalition governments. happens in-between, you are only on the profit side, human mechanism, then what about external situa- was arrested and later granted bail. At the block sues – corruption, non-development and political So, it is too early to be worried. BJP did well because because all that you have is the experience of life. The tions? Well, some you can handle, some you can’t. But as and district levels, criminal cases were filed violence, he said. the opposition failed to present their issues and live important thing is how you experience it. So, if your long as you know how to handle yourself, it is not really against at least 150 BJP leaders and workers, said Emboldened by its recent electoral success, the up to the expectations of the electorate.” interiority is in a non-compulsive, conscious state, a problem. It may be a challenge, but it’s not a problem. a senior BJP leader. BJP is now eyeing West Bengal more seriously. Chatterjee added that the BJP’s victory was not then you determine your experience. The situations, There are only situations and situations and situations In the post-UP election scenario, the rivalry be- Apart from Uttar Pradesh, the BJP came to power one of its ideas and policies. in many ways, you determine part of them, the world in life. Only those who don’t know how to handle them, tween TMC and BJP is poised to intensify in West in Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. The BJP nonetheless is gearing up to increase determines part of them. But how you experience life, label them as a ‘problem’. Bengal. The near non-existence of the communist West Bengal is a bastion that the BJP has not its presence in West Bengal. It will start with that’s one hundred per cent in your hands. A clear mind will see everything for what it is parties and the Congress has created a political vac- been able to break on its own. The party won a ‘Vijayatsav’ (victory rally) on March 18. Don’t think in terms of how to turn everything into uum that’s enabled the BJP to become the principal two of the state’s 42 parliamentary seats in the “Organisationally, we are active. But Manipur THE FORMULA TO CREATE A BLISSFUL CHEMISTRY something else. Learn how to see everything for what opposition party to the TMC in the state. 2014 Lok Sabha elections, getting 17% of the vote and UP have given a moral boost. This will add WITHIN YOURSELF it is. For this you need clarity. If you need clarity, you Following the Modi government’s recent efforts share. In comparison, the TMC bagged 34 seats a new impetus. We will try to channelise the If you think your work is important, the first thing you need an unclouded mind, an unprejudiced mind, a to crack down on the corrupt – including demon- with an almost 40% vote share. energy of our block and booth-level workers shou ld do is work upon yoursel f, so that inter nal ly you mind which is not in a state of confusion, but in the lap etisation in November – the West Bengal chief To start with, the BJP has set its sights on “a in a positive way. We got an excellent result in are a stable being, no matter what the situation is exter- of consciousness. That mind wi l l see every thing as it is. minister responded swiftly by not just filing fresh good show” in the panchayat polls scheduled next Odisha where the BJP could make a dent in the nally. When you are running a large business or enter- If you want to turn everything into an opportunity it’s cases against senior BJP leaders but also digging year in West Bengal. It is banking on ideological Biju Janata Dal’s citadel in the panchayat elec- prise, it’s not just about you. Often, there are another up to you, otherwise you can enjoy as it is. The greatest out old cases. parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak tions,” said Singh. thousand people involved with you. So how you hand le possibilities in life are its uncertainties.