Let us face it that Covid-19 is far from over despite new and more reliable vaccines entering the market. Though, thinking about the post-pandemic era, we foresee a change in how we will live, work and interact. We envision living in a world that facilitates economic activities and socializing with reduced human contact.

One thing common in all these predictions is ‘high-speed and reliable connectivity.’ As a result, India will need more and more investments in the telecom infrastructure to meet these rapidly growing broadband internet needs.

Let us look at how the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) and TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) together have mapped out plans to secure the future of broadband in India.

17^th April 2015: Recommendations on Delivering Broadband Quickly

In 2015, the TRAI issued a recommendations report to the Government of India (GOI) on ways to make India truly digital.

These recommendations covered topics ranging from Licensing, Right of Way (ROW), National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), Towers, Fixed-line Broadband, Cable TV, Satellite to Hosting of Contents in India, License fee on ISPs, Infrastructure Sharing, and Promoting Adoption of Broadband. If you wish to read this report, please visit Trai

20^th August 2020: Consultation Paper on Roadmap to Promote Broadband Connectivity and Enhanced Broadband Speed
Subsequently, the TRAI released a consultation paper on the roadmap to promote broadband connectivity by addressing issues concerning broadband speed, infrastructure creation, and broadband proliferation.

12^th March 2021: Annexure A from DoT

After that, on 12^th March 2021, the TRAI received Annexure A from the DoT, where a reference was made concerning the promotion of fixed-line broadband and the exemption of license fee on fixed-line broadband revenues for at least five (5) years.

The government, broadband internet providers, and users – all know the value of high-quality connection.

Broadband India vs. 5G Network

While 4G and 5G services will help Indians and businesses stay connected, there is little evidence that the importance of broadband internet will decline for this technology is not only fast but also more reliable. Also, there are fewer network congestions with broadband internet, and users can have greater control over the download and upload speeds.

It is important to note that the global launch of 5G impacts fiber optics demands the most. 5G network will enable data-consuming applications like Artificial Intelligence, e-education, e-health care, and VOD (Video-On-Demand) platforms.

All the above trending applications need gigabit speeds and ultra-low latency rate – in short, a deep fiberization of networks.

In short, broadband and 5G will have to go hand-in-hand for more stable growth and application altogether.

With this, we’ll move on to our next section.

Is Fiber the Future?

India has 600,000 telecom towers providing voice and data connectivity to urban and rural populations– but less than 30% of them are fiberized.

Below are some reasons which we think will make Fiber Optics’ bring on its top game in the future:

1. A Rise in Data Consumption

   Like we mentioned earlier, Covid-19 was a different ball game altogether with its work-from-home and remote learning lifestyle driving high-speed internet connectivity in all cities, whether they are Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3.

   Not only this, the increased consumer spending (both monetary and time-wise) on online gaming shopping and OTT platforms have further strained data consumption needs in India.

   All these trends are a testimony of what to expect in 2021-22 down the road.

2. Requisite Incentives by the Government

   Sufficient fiber connectivity can further pump the success of digital infra projects initiated by the Indian government and guarantee high-speed broadband access to the remotest of locations.

   In the earlier sections, we mentioned how DoT, in conjunction with TRAI, phased out projects since 2015 to develop policies that support the growth of the Indian telecom infra.

3. Sophisticated Business Connectivity Needs

   Fiber-based broadband connectivity is synonymous with 100% reliability, 0% lower latency, and super-fast internet speed for businesses.

   Why do businesses need sophisticated and reliable internet connections? Well, they need it to access cloud-based applications, mine critical data points, and (of course) connect with colleagues around the globe seamlessly.

Are Mega Satellite Constellations Going to Power the Future Internet?

Over the past few months, satellite-based connectivity has been the topic of every discussion. FINALLY, we can dream about being independent of our routers’ and ISP’s whims and fancies and can experience unbroken connectivity! But who is going to make that happen? Well, satellite broadband is what we are talking about.

The space in the space is actually filling fast! As we write this, the groundwork of this new technology is being laid.

Moreover, Elon Musk’s Starlink and Bharti Airtel’s and the UK Government’s OneWeb have already made their first industry moves. Not to forget the US-based Hughes Network Systems, which is all ready to invest in a $500 million satellite and $300 million on ground-level gear.

The latest news is about Starlink that is all set to launch the global coverage of satellite broadband to every corner of the planet (except the poles) by August or in the next five weeks.

This is the beginning of an exciting next-generation broadband connectivity. Tighten your seat belts!

Conclusion

We’d like to conclude by saying that the future of broadband in India looks very bright indeed. Though we may finally live in a world without mentioning Covid-19 again, it seems unlikely that we will 100% go back to our pre-pandemic era.

As they say, ‘adapt or die!’ Businesses are growing faster than ever before; colleagues are becoming more remote than ever before; dependency on the internet is growing more than ever.

There is no looking back for the digital world. The future awaits exploitation of untapped high-speed internet that will further facilitate government initiatives, business projects, entrepreneurship, online gaming, movie streaming, online shopping, and many other opportunities.