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India is preparing to auction off about 72 GHz of airwaves to rollout 5G services in the country, boosting the need for fiberisation
What is fiberisation?
- The process of connecting towers with the core and radio via optical fibre cables is called Fiberisation.
- It helps fully utilise network capacity and carries large amounts of data once 5G services are rolled out.
- It will also aid in providing additional bandwidth and stronger backhaul support.
What is Backhaul?
- The backhaul is a component of the larger transport responsible for carrying data across the network.
- It represents the part of the network that connects the network’s core to the edge.
- As a result, fibre backhaul remains an integral part of transport across all telecoms.
Why does India need to address the backhaul problem urgently?
- In India, optical fibre or microwave radio links are typically used for backhaul.
- Currently, the service providers are using GHz microwave bands for mobile backhauling.
- Fibre is known to provide the best digital experience with higher capacity and a low bit error rate.
- Fibre is the most preferred option for 5G backhaul because of its proven scalability and capability to handle a vast amount of traffic.
Fiberisation Current status of India
- Even though India is the second-largest telecommunication market globally, fibre deployment in India is much lower than in other key markets.
- To meet the market requirements, India has to target a 150 MKm fibre/year deployment rate in the next few years to achieve 1.3 fibre/capita by 2035.
- Large-scale fibre deployment in India is vital to meet the needs of the 5G network.
What are the challenges?
- Low Fiberization footprint
- To reach the targeted level of fiberisation, India requires about ₹2.2 lakh crore investment to help fiberise 70% of towers.
- About ₹2.5 lakh crore will be needed to set up 15 lakh towers in the next four years,
- Right of Way (RoW) rules, 2016
- The Indian Telegraph RoW was gazette notified by the Ministry of communication in 2016 to incorporate nominal one-time compensation and uniform procedure for the establishment of Overground Telegraph Line (OTL) anywhere in the country.
- RoW rules require all States/UTs to adopt the regulations.
- But, due to the issues like nonagreement on the rules by the States, separate bylaws followed by local authorities bypassing state rules, and separate departmental rules followed by various ministries, fiberisation is delayed.
- Disproportionate pricing
- The variations in cost/kilometre of fibre laid vary not just from state to state but from city to city.
- The absence of a centralised system to apply for permissions to lay underground fibre leaves room for disproportionate pricing.
- Pandemic Hurdles
- In 2020, the government had set a target of achieving 70% fiberisation and 1 kilometre per telecom tower by 2023.
- The pandemic had an adverse impact on the progress
- Since 2020, fiberisation has increased by only about 8%, reaching 30% in 2021.
Can satellite communication help in 5G deployment and improve network backhaul?
- Satellite communication can provide high-capacity backhaul connectivity to large numbers of edge servers over vast areas, thereby complementing the terrestrial network with cost-effective scalability.
- It can facilitate 5G broadband connectivity to underserved areas where it is not feasible to deploy terrestrial infrastructures like remote villages, islands or mountainous regions.
- Satellite-based networks are the only means for delivering 5G broadband to users on board moving vessels, including cars, ships, aeroplanes and high-speed trains.
- Space-based backhaul will also provide disaster relief services, support emergency response teams, and deliver broadband connectivity for one-off entertainment or sports events anywhere in the world.
- The low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites will be well-suited to offer backhaul and direct connectivity.
Pic Courtesy: Business Standard
Content Source: The Hindu