Recap of Day 1Tenth Annual Conference on Telecom Infrastructure in India

Demand-side Drivers

• There has been a steep decline in 3G and 4G-enabled device prices which has accelerated dataconsumption.

• Per subscriber data usage on 3G networks was above 700 MB per month in 2015.

• This exponential growth in data traffic will generate demand for increased capacity on datanetworks, which in turn will drive demand for in-fill sites and backhaul networks.

Supply-side drivers

• Accelerated roll-out of 3G and 4G services is likely to drive tenancy demand.

• Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited will be the single largest driver of tenancies as it does not have anyexisting network to co-locate its TD-LTE base transceiver stations.

• Advancements in carrier aggregation will enhance user experience on data networks and furtherincrease capacity investments.

Future Outlook

• Going forward, growth in telecom infrastructure will be driven by a mix of operator-led demand and public sector investments.

• Acquisition of additional spectrum will drive network expansion by incumbent operators and push telecom infrastructure investments.

• High speed data networks will drive backhaul fiberisation.

• Government’s BharatNet and Smart Cities projects will be the key enablers for investments in broadband infrastructure.

Key Trends and Market Outlook

Current status and key trends

• The Indian telecom industry iswitnessing a shift from voice-centric networks to data-centricnetworks.

• As network characteristicschange, infra providers have toaccommodate different bandsand different technologies on theexisting infrastructure.

• The roll-out of 4G networks andequipment modernisation beingundertaken by the operators hasput the infrastructure industry inthe spotlight.

• Meanwhile, towercos have beenmaking concerted efforts toreduce diesel consumption attheir sites. For instance, for Indus,over the last five years, thenumber of telecom sites hasalmost doubled but the energyexpenditure has remained flat.

Issues and challenges

• Disconnect between the policyformulated at the centre andimplementation at the state levelis the biggest issue. Towercoswant a uniform tower policy thatwould address this issue.

• Further, the industry has to dealwith multiple agencies andnumerous compliances, making itdifficult for it to meet thegrowing demand for sites.

• Concerns regarding EMFradiations from towers continueto hamper roll-out of new sites.

• Policy uncertainty regardingsharing of active infrastructure isalso an area of concern. Moreclarity on sharing of antennasand fibre is needed.

• Definition of infrastructure needsto be broadened to includebackhaul, optic fibre, etc.

Drivers and market outlook

• 3G and 4G network rollouts byoperators will drive the demandfor tower infrastructure.

• Further, more in-buildingsolutions will need to come up asalmost 80 per cent of data isconsumed indoors.

• Solutions such as small cell siteswill gain prominence asoperators look to provideseamless data experience toconsumers.

• So far, telecom infrastructure roll-out has been done by privatesector players. Going forward,carriers and infrastructureproviders will need to closelywork with the government andevolve a new model for plannedrollout for enabling initiativessuch as Digital India and SmartCities.

Keynote Session : Infrastructure Providers’ Perspective

Operations and Maintenance of Telecom Infrastructure: Emerging Trends

Requirement of professionally managed, technically competent and financially sound O&M companies is becoming critical, in the light of high energy costs in telecom eco-system and new regulations from DoT to reduce carbon emissions.

The key deliverables of an O&M provider for telecom infrastructure are to enable constant uptime percentage, maintain site hygiene and equipment health, and ensure energy cost optimization.

However, there are several issues faced by O&M providers to deliver the aforementioned services. Key among these is related to the implementation of new technologies. High capex requirements and maintenance challenges are the key barriers that restrict towercos to implement innovative and new technologies. Therefore, there is a need for O&M providers to move to a capex model.

As far as the O&M industry is concerned, currently there are about 250 players in the market, largely unorganized. Only a few players such as Ardom, Pace Power and Essential Energy are present in the organized space. Going forward, as data uptake increases and dependency on diesel-based power reduces, the organized set of players are likely to dominate the market.

Challenges faced by infrastructure providers

• Fear of EMF radiations isencouraging local bodies totake coercive actions againsttower installations.

• High and multiple charges arelevied for grant of RoWpermissions.

• NOCs have to be obtained frommultiple authorities and theassociated processes are oftentime-consuming.

• State governments have theirown regulations pertaining totower installations and thegrant of RoW for fibredeployment.

• There is erratic/non-availabilityof power supply at telecomsites.

Update on RoW

• The Department ofTelecommunications hasreleased the draft RoW policy.Key features of the policy are:

Defined time period fordisposal of RoW applications

Levy of administrative fee onlyfor processing applications

Levy of reinstatement chargeson the basis of schedule ofrates for similar works carriedout by the appropriateauthority

Deemed permission if theapplication is neither acceptednor rejected within the definedtime period

• The government has alsoissued the modified buildingbye laws 2016 which havemade telecom ductsmandatory for all newbuildings.

Way forward

• A uniform RoW Policy acrossstates facilitating thedeployment of telecominfrastructure is imperative forthe success of Digital India.

• The policy should provide foronline single window clearancein a time bound manner andone time nominaladministrative fee.

• Power supply should beprovided to the telecom siteson a priority basis.

• There should be no illegalsealing or removal of telecominfrastructure by local bodies.

Update on Local Issues: Zoning and RoW

Operator Viewpoint

State-run telecom operator BSNL is making concerted efforts to revamp its operations and taking several steps for network augmentation. BSNL now provides a complete bouquet of telecom services including, wireline, GSM, 2G, 3G, 4G, VAS, broadband, FTTH, and enterprise services.

BSNL has 35,000 telephone exchanges across the country, of which 74 per cent are in the rural areas. All the exchanges are provided with OFC and microwave backbone. The operator is now replacing these exchanges with NGN telephone exchanges which will offer converged wireline and GSM services.

The operator has about 80,000 GSM BTS across the country, serving 85.4 million GSM customers. BSNL took steps such as free night calling, free incoming while roaming, etc., which led to an increase in the traffic on its network and subsequent congestion on the BTS. Therefore, the operator is considering intra-circle roaming agreements with a few private operators.

To meet the growing demand for its services, BSNL is planning to add new towers that can serve 20 million additional GSM subscribers. About 50 per cent of the requirements for new towers will be fulfilled by infrastructure providers, 25 per cent will be built by the operator on its own and the remaining will be provided by equipment suppliers. The operator is planning to carve out a separate entity for managing its tower business and has received approval from the Union Cabinet for the same.

Spotlight on Technology: FRP Telecom Towers

• Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. Thereinforcing fibres form the primary structure of the material, while the polymer transfers the load from fibre-to-fibre and protects the structure from the operating environment.

• Telecom towers made out of FRP offer several advantages over those made of other materials. In India,however, no FRP tower installations have been made so far and the technology is currently being validated.

Key features of FRP towers

• FRP towers are significantly lighter than other telecom towers. This results in lower costs in transporting, liftingand installing the telecom tower which makes them most suitable for rooftop telecom sites.

• They exhibit exceptionally high impact strength that reduces damage potential. There is no permanentdeformation under high stress.

• FRP has low thermal conductivity that reduces installation thickness and eliminates condensation problems. Italso reduces operational energy requirements.

• These towers are unaffected by exposure to a wide variety of corrosive chemicals. This ensures minimummaintenance costs and longer life.

• The dielectric property of FRP helps to predict insulation values for wide range of frequencies.

Smart Cities: Role of Telecom Infrastructure Providers

Smart cities and network

requirements

• A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple ICT solutions to manage a city’sassets, including transportation system, water supply, waste management, power plants, lawenforcement, community services, etc.

• Smart cities are expected to have positive impact at three levels: economic, social and environmental.

• The infrastructure required for a smart city will include a robust digital backbone with latest ICTcomponents in various domains.

Opportunities for the industry

• The huge telecom infrastructure requirement of smart cities is expected to throw up immenseopportunities for the telecom industry as a whole, and towercos, in particular.

• Data requirements of a smart city are expected to be high, requiring in-fill sites to support the existingnetwork.

• The industry will need to evolve sustainable solutions that are aesthetically pleasing, easy to deploy,self-sufficient, and have low footprint and low maintenance cost.

Challenges and outlook

• There is need for an integrated approach to modernise city infrastructure and leverage technology to improve the efficiency and capacity of services delivered in a smart city.

• However, deploying ICT for a smart city entails challenges such as re-development and retro-fitting of existing infrastructure, developing different models for different scenarios, and varying role of ICT in different landscape.

• Further, there will be challenges arising out of interaction of multiple agencies and varying definitions of ‘smart city’ across different cities.

Current scenario and Issues

• At present, power and fuel costs account for about 25-30 per cent of the total opex for a towercompany.

• While towercos realise that energy management is necessary not only from a cost perspective but alsofrom the environment perspective, about 60-65 per cent of expenditure on energy management stillgoes towards ensuring backup power.

• However, this is fast changing with towercos taking steps to move sites outdoor, make them diesel-freeand grid-connected.

Energy management

challenge

• Energy management should involve three components: grid power management, measurement andvalidation of energy consumed at tower sites, and enhanced equipment efficiency, especially on thepassive side.

• However, energy management can be challenging because each site requires different configuration ofpower sources depending on the location.

Solutions

• In a bid to reduce energy consumption at tower sites, towercos are converting legacy sites from AC to non-AC.

• Further, the industry is looking at setting up new standalone sites which are diesel-free and deploy more storage solutions.

• The industry has also tried the RESCO model, with varying degree of success. Reliable suppliers with enough domain knowledge are required to drive further uptake of renewable energy among the towercos.

Energy Management: Strategies and Solutions

Thank you