Trai’s suggestion to waive ROW rates for 5 years to slash cost: COAI

Telecom regulator Trai’s recommendation to waive right of way (ROW) charges for the next five years will significantly reduce the overall cost of network roll out for companies, industry body COAI said on Monday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had on August 31 recommended to the government to coordinate with states to waive ROW charges for next five years (2022-23 to 2027-28) for expeditious laying of common ducts and posts. Operators and infrastructure providers need to take permission from various authorities for laying optical fibre, installing mobile towers, among others, for which the Centre has framed a right of way policy and notified it in 2016 after consultation with states and UTS. Trai also said the Centre should simultaneously ensure that during these five years, ROW charges for laying common ducts and posts shall be exempted for the central government departments and agencies as well.