COAI: No Need for Private Networks in India's Strong Telecom Ecosystem

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Given the wide coverage of telecom networks in the country, there is no need for enterprises to establish their private networks, industry body COAI said on Thursday.

The government has given an option to enterprises to establish their private networks for captive operations like network for factory functions etc by directly procuring spectrum from the Department of Telecom.

Telecom operators have opposed the move.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea etc, cited Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) observation that though the licensing framework for CNPN (captive non-public network) was put in place in June 2022, the CNPN services have not picked up".

COAI Director General SP Kochhar in a statement said that Captive Private Networks or Captive Non-Public Networks (CNPNs), which are primarily required in geographically vast and sparsely populated regions where public telecom connectivity is limited or non-existent, do not really apply in the Indian ecosystem.

"Given India's widespread telecom penetration, the need for enterprises to establish private networks is virtually non-existent," Kochhar said.

He said India with its extensive telecom coverage across the entire and diverse demographic, has positioned itself among the global leaders in digital connectivity.

"Importantly, with the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi's vision and drive to enable 5G connectivity to all corners of the country, the private networks derived from the TSPs can meet the SLAs of the enterprises at operational costs only, via technically robust networks deployed and operated by them, without the additional burden on the enterprise to manage a complex network which is outside their domain of expertise," Kochhar said.

India's licensed telecom service providers (TSPs) are fully equipped to meet enterprise demand for 5G applications through advanced solutions such as spectrum leasing and network slicing within their existing public networks, to handle different types of traffic simultaneously.

As per CNPN guidelines, these captive networks cannot be connected to a public network or with the network of any other entity.

Kocchar said that it is impractical to suppose that the operations and outcomes of a captive private network, would remain locked and not be used thereafter for communications with the external world, other offices, headquarters, etc as the isolated captive private network does not eventually connect to the external network in contrast to the ones provided by TSPs.

"Instead of creating isolated networks, efforts should focus on strengthening the broader telecom infrastructure that fuels industrial growth. Contributions to initiatives such as the Digital Bharat Nidhi (formerly USOF) can enhance connectivity in the few remaining underserved areas, fostering nationwide digital inclusion," Kocchar said.