Telecom Infrastructure Policy-2022: Plan To Provide 512 Villages Connectivity And Roll Out 5G Network

The Gujarat state government has introduced a new Telecom Infrastructure Policy-2022. This is an integrated policy of all the administrative departments of the state that has been prepared to allow the installation of ‘optical fiber’ and ‘mobile towers’. 

The Single Window Clearance Pattern will now allow installation for underground telegraph infrastructure and overground telegraph infrastructure through the Telecom Infrastructure Policy. Single Window Clearance Pattern means all departments and offices involved in granting permissions for optical fibers and mobile towers will collectively give one single permission for such projects. This is one more concrete step that has been taken by the Science and Technology Department of the State Government towards realizing PM Modi’s Digital India Mission. 

The “Right of Way (ROW) Policy” was declared by the Government of India in the year 2016 considering the need to install optical fiber networks and telecom towers using state-of-the-art technology in the state to build strong information and communication technology infrastructure with an adequate bandwidth. This new ROW policy has been prepared to keep in view the requirements of this policy in the state of Gujarat as well. 

In Gujarat, different policies were implemented by different administrative departments to establish underground infrastructure (optical fiber) and overground infrastructure (mobile towers) in the area under their jurisdiction. But there was no integrated policy to establish underground infrastructure (optical fiber) and overground infrastructure (mobile towers) across the state. Under the visionary policy and guidance of CM Bhupendra Patel and Minister for Science and Technology Jitubhai Vaghani, the Department of Science and Technology has initiated a consultation with all the administrative departments in the state to formulate an integrated policy in this regard. The Telecom Infrastructure Policy-206 has been announced as per the Single Window Clearance Pattern in line with the Government of India’s policy of allowing the overground telegraph infrastructure (OTl).

The economic prosperity of a state depends to a large extent on the ease of its roads and transportation as well as the industrial policies of the government. Similarly, in today’s modern age, the speed of digital transactions is also very important. 

Under the new ROW policy, the entire process of setting up telegraph infrastructure will now be completed online. A time limit of 60 days has been fixed for its approval. The various departments which had hitherto had their own separate policy for this sanction will now come to a consensus.

With the implementation of the new ROW policy of the state government, the state will become world-class as a result of increasing the ease of e-transactions and bandwidth through the internet. The main advantage is having a unified policy for all the administrative departments in the state will enable the beneficiaries to take action on a single online platform and a new initiative of the state towards Ease of Doing Business. This will increase transparency in the administration as well as speed up the administrative process. Not only that, due to this policy, the investment in international and domestic IT sectors in the state will increase. This will also indirectly increase employment and benefit the state’s GDP.