‘Captive non-public network rules allow backdoor entry to big tech firms’

NEW DELHI

The Cellular Operators Association of India on Thursday said that the rules issued to set up captive non-public network (CNPN) allowed tech companies to de-facto become service providers and compete with telcos in the enterprise segment. The association, therefore, urged the Centre to relook into the concept of CNPN to ensure a level-playing field.

The guidelines issued by the telecom department stipulate a minimum networth of ₹100 crore for applicants seeking direct assignment of spectrum from the government for setting up CNPN, and the licencee will not be required to pay any entry fee or licence fee.

“Any consideration of administrative allocation of spectrum for such networks is fundamentally against the principles of a level-playing field and effectively provides backdoor entry to big technology players to provide 5G services and solutions to enterprises in India without equivalent regulatory compliance and payment of levies that TSPs are subjected to,” COAI DG SP Kochhar said in a letter to Telecom Secretary K. Rajaraman.

“The guidelines allow technology companies to de-facto become service providers and compete with TSPs in the enterprise connectivity space,” Mr. Kochhar added.

The letter dated June 30, added that the move seemed to be based on some international practices that were not relevant in the Indian context and “probably without any in-depth study being conducted by DoT or TRAI of its adverse impact on the economy and for orderly growth of the telecom sector”.

COAI further highlighted that companies such as Intel, Amazon, Microsoft, Cisco, and NTT, on their websites, were claiming to be capable of setting-up and managing such networks for providing 5G services over the cloud to enterprises, effectively competing directly with telecom operators in the enterprise connectivity space.