The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) is happy with the launch of the Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). A couple of days back, TelecomTalk reported about the website of Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal going live. On May 14, 2022, the portal has been officially launched by the telecom department. This portal will act as a one-stop window for the telecom infrastructure companies along with the telecom service providers (TSPs) for getting RoW (Right of Way) clearances. The basic aim of launching the portal is to ensure that RoW applications are cleared fast so that optical fiber deployment across the country can pick up the pace.
COAI Says This New Portal Will Help With Digital India Vision
Lt. General, Dr. SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI said that this portal will help with the government’s vision of a digital India. With 5G around the corner, there will be a lot denser infrastructure required in India to deliver seamless connectivity services to people living around the country. Right now, RoW applications are not approved in time for the telcos and the ISPs (Internet Service Providers) so that they can roll out connectivity services in new parts of the country. 5G will require the use of street furniture for deploying small cells. In addition to this, more and more tower sites will have to be deployed by the telcos along with laying optical fiber by the ISPs for providing fixed-line broadband services. Applications for all of this will now be available on the Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal. Further, through this portal, everyone will be able to access and see how many applications are pending at a given time. This will bring transparency and hold the authorities accountable if they are lazy in their work. Further, the ecosystem members and service providers will also be able to track their requests in a better way.
