TRAI has recommended that India aim for a ‘net zero’ import of telecom equipment by 2022, also proposing the creation of a ₹1,000-crore fund to promote design, testing and production in this space.
In its recommendations on ‘Promoting Local Telecom Equipment Manufacturing’, which was released on Friday, the telecom regulator has also suggested mandatory testing and certification of the telecom equipment in the country as well as creation of the Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF) for research and innovation.
However, the push for indigenisation is not expected to hurt foreign makers of telecom gear such as Huawei, Ericsson or Nokia, as these companies have some part of their manufacturing in the country. “It won’t harm any of the foreign companies because we allow 100 per cent FDI in telecom equipment already and they can also participate in government procurement through Indian partners,” an industry expert told
A Huawei statement said that as a global ICT player, it continues to respect local policies that foster innovation and accelerate growth of the sector. “Recommendations from TRAI have come in only a short while ago, and we are studying and evaluating the same,” it said.
TRAI has suggested that telecom service providers (TSPs) be incentivised to deploy indigenous telecom products, beyond the quantities to be mandated under the Preferential Market Access (PMA).
It has also proposed a Telecom Entrepreneurship Promotion Fund and a Telecom Manufacturing Promotion Fund so that the private sector can effectively participate in the manufacture of indigenous equipment and have market access for locally made gear, it said.
The progress of telecom gear manufacturing in the country should also be monitored by the Department of Telecom (DoT), at least at the level of Member, Telecom Commission, it said.
For market access, the Authority recommended that a nodal officer should be appointed in DoT/ TEC to look into the cases related to lack of implementation of Preferential Market Access (PMA) policy issued by DoT.
“DoT should immediately review its PMA policy, issued in October 2012, so that the products specified under the policy as well as the norms of the value addition specified in the Policy can be aligned with the present day’s local market realities,” TRAI said.
It added that DoT should coordinate with Ministry of Finance for making available the financing options, in line with the practices followed by other export-oriented economies, to indigenous telecom equipment manufacturers such as venture capital in the form of equity and soft loans, project finance and contract financing options.
Industry bodies like the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association have welcomed the recommendations saying same are expected to give boost for local manufacturing.
However, on IPRs, the TRAI has recommended that a portal be developed for self loading and declaration of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), to which TEMA said there must be some government authority for that.
“This is because self declaration is not enough and in several legal cases the ratio of SEPs accepted are far less. And, the royalty should also be consented by the government and not left to market situations. There are several issues and non transparency in this,” said NK Goyal, Chairman Emeritus, TEMA.