The Hindu Business Line : DoT calls meet to discuss sharing `passive' infrastructure in rural areas

THE Department of Telecom has called for a meeting of all telecom operators on December 13 to discuss the issue of sharing of `passive' infrastructure in rural areas.

The move is aimed at boosting the tele-density in villages, which at present is under 2 per cent.

"We have asked the operators to come and discuss the issue of sharing of passive infrastructure such as mobile towers and base transceivers stations with us and we have indicated about four to five models to accelerate the spread of the telephony in rural areas," said Dr J.S. Sarma, Secretary, Department of Telecom.

The Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, will chair the meeting.

If the proposal comes through, then mobile players would get to share the BSNL's nationwide infrastructure to offer services in rural areas for a fee.

Private players have been demanding access to BSNL's infrastructure to enter into rural areas, the state-owned company has been objecting to the move.

BSNL is against sharing infrastructure on the grounds that it has invested huge amounts of money and it has now become a USP for the company in a competitive market.

At the interactive session on "Connecting the Unconnected" organised by FICCI, Dr Sarma said, "It is no longer a political decision, it has become the crying need for common people who wish to have the mobile telephone with relevant applications rather than in knowing about the infrastructural bottlenecks."

Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal, Chairman, FICCI Telecom Committee and Joint MD, Bharti Enterprises said the Government and the private sector can have partnership towards building the network for rural telephony.