TRAI To Release Consultation Paper On Converging Technological Environment

Amid the ongoing regulatory reforms in new emerging sectors, Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) plans to float a consultation paper on the issue of converging technological environment.

The sector regulator is of the opinion that it is not in the interest of a sector to be handled by different ministries in the present technological environment, Hindu Business Line reported.

It is also of the view that Digital Communication Commission (DCC), a department under Department of Telecommunication (DoT), should handle the policy aspects of data centres, content delivery networks, and internet exchange points.

“As per allocation of business rules, ‘data’ is allocated to DoT, but policies related to DCs are being handled by MeitY. The Authority is of the opinion that data centres, content delivery networks and Internet exchange points (IXPs) are integral components of “digital communication infrastructure and services,” TRAI said while making recommendations for improving the data centre infrastructure in the country.

It is to be noted that TRAI released a recommendation paper recently suggesting the formulation of a body called the Data Digitisation and Monetisation Council (DDMC) to oversee all the issues related to data, including digitisation, monetisation, sharing and storage.

“The proposed body should have suitable representation from DoT (Department of Telecommunications) and MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and IT), in addition to representatives from Central and State governments,” TRAI said.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum virtually, said that the country’s digital economy is well poised to grow to $1 Tn by 2025.

He also said that technology-led growth is one of the important pillars of India’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

India’s consumer digital economy, which stood at $85-90 Bn in 2020, is slated to grow nearly 10X to $800 Bn by 2030 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%, according to a RedSeer report.

Few days back, the government also published the long-awaited draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited feedback from the public on the draft Bill by December 17, 2022.

While the government has proposed to create an online redressal forum, the Data Protection Board of India. With the government having complete control over the board, industry experts have raised questions on the autonomy of the board.