The State of Broadband in India - A Call for Regulatory Neutrality

The Telecom Regulator has recently commenced a consultation process on the issue of what needs to be done to deliver broadband quickly. In spite of repeated consultations and recommendations relating to broadband and the launch in 2012 of an ambitious Universal Service Obligation Fund sponsored project to put in place a national optic fibre network, India continues have dismally inadequate supply of broadband services, especially in rural areas where it is practically negligible. The abnormally low ratio of wirelines to wireless connections is a major part of this problem. The number of wire lines in India are declining in spite of considerable support from the state towards wire line infrastructure which continues to be largely in the hands of the incumbents. A major part of this support flows from the Universal Service Obligation Fund. This paper tries to examine the problem of poor broadband penetration in India specifically from the perspective of regulatory neutrality and postulates that rectifying regulation by bringing in a focus on competitive and technological neutrality is a major part of what needs to be done