Lok Sabha Question No. 1179 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-25
Subject: Broadband Services through Public Wi-Fi
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1179 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 th   JULY, 2018

## BROADBAND SERVICES THROUGH PUBLIC Wi-Fi

1179. SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the telecom commission has approved proliferation of broadband through public Wi-Fi network as recommended by TRAI;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether internet telephony will allow users to make calls to cell phones as well as landline via internet service and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  wide  coverage  and  usage  of  Wi-Fi  is  expected  to  bring  down approximate cost per MB of data usage to less than 2 paise as opposed to 23 paise per MB on 2G, 3G, and 4G networks; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  expand  the network of public Wi-Fi?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has submitted its suo motu recommendations dated 09.03.2017 to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the subject 'Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks'. Telecom Commission (TC) has approved these recommendations as mentioned in the 'Summary of Recommendations' except the recommendations at S. Nos. 2 (which shall be brought before TC separately) and 5 (wherein no action is required at this stage).

This matter is presently under consideration in DoT and decision, as appropriate, will be taken in due course.

(c) All the Telecom Service Providers having Unified Access Service License, Cellular Mobile  Telephone  Service  License,  Unified  License  with  Access  Service  Authorisation and Unified License (Virtual Network Operators) with Access Service Authorisation have been  permitted  to  provide  Internet  Telephony  by  using  the  mobile  numbering  series. Internet  telephony  will  allow  users  to  make calls  to  cell  phones  as  well  as  landline  via

internet  services.  The  copy  of  amendment  carried  out  on  19.06.2018  in  the  Unified Access Service Licenses in this regard is enclosed as Annexure.

(d) TRAI in its consultation paper dated 13 th  July 2016 on 'Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks) has stated that estimated cost per MB in Wi-Fi network could  be  less  than  2  paise.  It  has  also  stated  that  consumers  on  average  are  paying around 23 paise per MB for the data usage in the cellular Network (2G/3G/4G).

However, as per 'The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators' reports published by TRAI on 27 th  June 2018 for the period January-March, 2018, average outgo per GB for mobile users for GSM including LTE(Long Term Evolution) (2G+3G+4G) is Rs. 14.94 which amounts to less than 1.5 paise per MB.

(e) BharatNet is being implemented to provide broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  As  part  of  this  project,  the  last  mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology is being provided at all the GPs. At each GP, on an average five Access Points (APs) are to be provided, three APs for Government institutions and two APs for public places.

Further,  the  following  schemes,  funded  by  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund (USOF),  are  under  implementation  for  providing  broadband  services  through  Wi-Fi hotspots in country:

-  Public  Wi-Fi  hotspots  are  being  set  up  by  BSNL  at  its  25,000  Rural Telephone Exchanges.
-  Wi-Fi  Choupals  are  being  set  up  by  CSC-SPV  at  its  5,000  Gram Panchayats.
-  Wi-Fi hotspots are being set up by RailTel at 200 rural Railway Stations.
-  Wi-Fi hotspots are being set up by BSNL at 200 Gram Panchayats.

Under Ministry of Tourism funding, Wi-Fi hotspots at 90 tourist places across the country have been set up.

To, All the UAS Licensees.

Subject: Amendment to the UAS License on Internet Telephony

In pursuance to Condition 5.1, the Licensor hereby amends the UAS License Agreement as under:

|    | Existing Clause   | Amended Clause                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|----|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  1 |                   | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6(ii) Internet Telephony calls originated by International out roamers from international locations shall be handed over at the International gateway of licensed ILDOs and International termination charges shall be paid to the terminating access service provider. In case the Licensee is not able to ensure that Internet Telephony call originated outside of the country is coming through ILDO gateway, International out- roaming to Internet Telephony subscribers of the access provider shall not be allowed.Further,the calls originated outside the country using internet telephony shall be routed through ILD (International Long Distance) Gateway like any other international call. |
|  2 |                   | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6(iii) The mobile numbering series should be used for providing Internet Telephony by a Licensee. TSPs are allowed to allocate same number to the subscriber both for Cellular Mobile service and Internet Telephony service. The access service licensee should use private ENUM in its network for Telephone number mapping from E.164 to SIP/H.323 addresses and vice-versa.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |

## No. 20-573/2017 AS-I Government of India Ministry of Communications Department of Telecommunications

## 20, Ashoka Road, New Delhi - 110001

## Annexure

Dated 19 th June, 2018

|   3 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6(iv) The licensees should comply with all the interception and monitoring related requirements as specified in the licence as amended from time to time for providing Internet Telephony. The Public IP address used for originating/terminating Internet Telephony calls should be made a mandatory part of CDR in case of Internet Telephony. The location details in form of latitude and longitude should also be provided wherever it is feasible. CLI Restriction (CLIR) facility should not be provided for Internet Telephony Subscribers.   |
|-----|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   4 | 'IP Address assigned to a subscriber for Internet Telephony shall conform to IP addressing Scheme of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) only. Translation of E.164 number / private number to IP address and vice versa by the licensee for this purpose shall be as per directions/ instructions issued by the Licensor.' | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6 (v) IP Address assigned to a subscriber for Internet Telephony shall conform to IP addressing Scheme of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) only.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|   5 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6 (vi) The Licensees providing Internet Telephony service may facilitate access to emergency number calls using location services; however it is not mandated to provide such services at present. The subscribers may be informed about the limitation of providing access to emergency services to Internet Telephony subscribers in unambiguous terms.                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|   6 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Part-I, General Conditions 2.6 (vii) The Licensees must inform QoS parameter supported by them for Internet Telephony so that the subscribers can take an informed decision.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

## 2. These amendments shall be part and parcel of the UAS License Agreement and all others Terms & Conditions shall remain unchanged.

## 3. These Amendments come into force with immediate effect.

Copy to,

1.  Secretary (TRAI)
2.  Sr.    DDG  (TEC)/  Wireless  Advisor/  Sr.  DDG  (DGT-HQ)/  Sr.  DDG  (LFP)/  DDG (LFA) and DDG (WPF)
3.  DDG (CS)/ DDG (DS)/ DDG (A/C)/ CVO
4.  COAI.
5.  Director (IT) may kindly arrange to upload this letter on the website of DoT.
6. All Directors of AS Division

## ***************

(R.K.Soni) Director (AS)