: SOS call answered, now telecom sector to ring in 5G in 2022 #IndiaNEWS #Business New Delhi: A rare bonhomie among three private telecom companies in raising tariffs coming on the back of a bailout

SOS call answered, now telecom sector to ring in 5G in 2022 #IndiaNEWS #Business
New Delhi: A rare bonhomie among three private telecom companies in raising tariffs coming on the back of a bailout package by the government may have helped the telecom sector avert a crisis but the challenges havent ceased to exist as the industry faces a cash-guzzling task of rolling out 5G networks in the coming months.
The sector that provides direct and indirect employment to millions is projected to see Rs 1. 3 lakh crore to Rs 2. 3 lakh crore of investments in the coming years in creating robust infrastructure and building telecom and network products that have been incentivised by the government through PLI and other initiatives.
After years of cut-throat competition and the apex court ruling on payment of past statutory dues left some players in the lurch, billionaire Sunil Mittals Bharti Airtel and struggling Vodafone Idea almost in tandem raised tariffs, taking the plunge they had long been talking about.
Shortly thereafter, richest Indian Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Jio too followed suit.
The tariff hike alongside the governments relief package that included a four-year break on payment of dues lifted the industrys spirits and ignited hopes of fueling investment in new-age technology that a nation aspiring to become a USD 5 trillion economy deserves.
With the government promising more reforms, the industry is entering the new year on a buoyant note, keen to see positive outcome on 5G spectrum pricing at the mega auction that is just months away.
The buzzing pace of developments in 2021 from bureaucrat-turned-politician Ashwini Vaishnaw being named the new Minster for Communications and IT to unveiling of blockbuster relief package in record time to prepaid tariff hikes to key milestones in 5G trials kept the sector in news.
A website for giving clearance to trusted and secure products that telcos can install in their network, over Rs 12,000-crore production linked incentives push for telecom sector, improving ARPU prospects for players, and unveiling of JioPhone Next smartphone with easy EMI options kept up the tempo in the market.
Investments in key components of 5G network, that is, spectrum, OFC (Optical Fibre Cable) deployment and building towers as pan-India coverage is estimated to be about Rs 1. 3-2. 3 lakh crore, S P Kochhar, Director General of industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said.
The mega relief package has offered sweetners like four-year break for companies from paying statutory dues related to AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) and spectrum, permission to share scarce airwaves, change in the definition of revenue on which levies are paid, and allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through the automatic route.

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