Latest news with #PDOs
Mint
3 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Trai rejects operators' call to disband India's public WiFi project, caps tariffs
Telecom operators received a setback as the sector regulator rejected their calls to scrap the country's public WiFi project and decided to cap bandwidth pricing under the scheme to provide affordable internet connectivity. Operators cannot charge public data offices (PDOs) more than twice the tariff applicable to retail subscribers for fiber broadband services with speeds up to 200 Mbps, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in its new tariff order. Under the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-Wani) project, PDOs are local and small shops that buy internet bandwidth from operators to resell as public WiFi hotspots and internet sachets of ₹5-10 per day to consumers in rural and other areas. 'This pricing framework has been designed to appropriately balance the interests of all stakeholders by ensuring affordability for small-scale Public Data Offices (PDOs) while also providing economic incentives to service providers," Trai said in its Telecommunication Tariff (Seventy First Amendment) Order, 2025. Also Read: Trai moves to rein in spam calls with new digital consent rule The PM-Wani scheme, which started in 2020, has been struggling to take off because of the high pricing charged by telecom operators and internet service providers. The government targeted 10 million public WiFi hotspots across the country by 2022, and 50 million by 2030. However, according to government data, about 333,215 hotspots have been deployed so far, with nearly half of those in Delhi. The operators were charging up to ₹8 lakh per annum from PDOs for providing bandwidth using expensive internet leased lines. The Broadband India Forum, which represents Big Tech companies, blamed the dearth of public WiFi hotspots in India on 'predatory pricing' by the carriers. Later, the government scrapped the commercial agreement norm under which the carriers were providing connectivity to PDOs via leased lines. Trai rejects arguments According to Trai, the new tariff framework takes into account the prevailing market conditions, current levels of adoption of PM-WANI services, as well as potential future growth. 'By aligning with these considerations, the framework aims to facilitate the orderly, sustainable, and inclusive growth of the public Wi-Fi ecosystem under the PM-WANI initiative." During the consultations on the tariff order, the telecom operators had pushed back against capping the bandwidth tariffs and wanted Trai to leave them to market forces, calling PDOs their competition. Also Read: Next-gen telecom tech to get ₹1,000-crore yearly R&D boost under telecom policy 'They are buying the service (bandwidth) for reselling. Why should any operator be forced to provide its network services to its competitors at the arbitrarily regulated prices for building their network," Ravi Gandhi, president and chief regulatory officer of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, had told Trai during a discussion in April. Besides, telecom operators said the concept of public WiFi in general is no more relevant in the country, given the spread of affordable 4G and 5G services and wanted the government to disband the project. Trai countered that the operators face no competition from PDOs. 'It is pertinent to mention that, as per the PM-WANI Central Registry, there are approximately 3 lakh registered PDOs, which constitute only a minimal percentage (0.7%) of the total FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) connections (4 crore approx). Given this relatively low number, the impact of PDOs on overall broadband market appears insignificant," Trai said in the order. Trai also highlighted that a large number of PDOs are small, residential setups located in low-income neighborhoods, providing affordable and accessible broadband internet to the masses, especially the subscribers at the bottom of the pyramid. 'These Public Data Offices generally have a limited data consumption under PM-WANI scheme as compared with regular retail connection, i.e. the data consumption under PM-WANI scheme is generally less than the data consumed for personal use out of this connection," Trai said. High broadband connectivity costs can act as a significant entry barrier for such small entities and may adversely impact the proliferation of the PM-WANI scheme. Also Read: Telcos breathe easy as DoT blocks Trai's bank guarantee demand In its draft order, Trai had not specified the 200 Mbps limit—the two-times tariff cap applied generally for all the plans, regardless of speed. In the new order, it said the current usage by most PDOs remains within the 100 Mbps range, and to support their growth and the overall expansion of the PM-WANI service, provisioning of broadband FTTH plans with bandwidths of up to 200 Mbps would offer sufficient flexibility to meet future demand. Trai has not capped the tariff for broadband connectivity to PDOs for bandwidth capacity exceeding 200 Mbps.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
TRAI prescribes cap for tariffs charged to PDOs under PM-WANI scheme
Telecom regulator TRAI on Monday prescribed a tariff framework for the PM-WANI scheme, capping the connectivity rates offered by various service providers to Public Data Offices (PDOs) at up to twice the tariffs applicable to retail subscribers of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband plans. Telecom and internet service providers at times require PDOs to connect public Wi-Fi access points using expensive Internet Leased Lines, in the name of commercial agreements. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the new pricing framework has been designed to "appropriately balance the interests of all stakeholders" by ensuring affordability for small-scale Public Data Offices (PDOs) while also providing reasonable compensation for the broadband connection to the service providers. Essentially, the Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface or PM-WANI framework aims to drive the proliferation of internet services by setting up public Wi-Fi Hotspots in the country. Under the PM-WANI framework, Public Data Offices (PDOs) establish, operate and maintain WANI-compliant Wi-Fi Hotspots and deliver internet services to subscribers. PDOs need to partner with a Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) to deliver internet services; PDOAs act as aggregators and perform the functions relating to authorisation and accounting. Live Events "To ensure a balanced and inclusive approach, TRAI prescribes the following tariff framework for the PM-WANI service provider providing retail Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband services shall offer all of its retail FTTH broadband plans upto 200 Mbps to the PDOs under the PM-WANI scheme, at a tariff not exceeding twice the tariff applicable to the retail subscribers for the corresponding FTTH broadband plan of the bandwidth (capacity) offered," according to TRAI. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had reached out to TRAI highlighting that the proliferation of the PM-WANI scheme was significantly below envisaged targets. Among the reasons cited for this low proliferation of PM-WANI was the high cost of internet connectivity charged by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). It was also stated that TSPs and ISPs often required Public Data Offices (PDOs) to connect public Wi-Fi access points using expensive Internet Leased Lines under the name of commercial agreements, TRAI noted. "In this regard, TRAI issued the Draft Telecommunication Tariff (70th Amendment) Order, 2024, on August 23, 2024, proposing that the tariff for broadband services provided to PDOs under the PM-WANI scheme aligned with retail broadband Fiber to the Home (FTTH) tariffs," the release said.
Business Standard
16 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
TRAI releases Tariff Order for retail broadband connectivity for Public Data Offices under the PM-WANI Scheme
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released the Telecommunication Tariff (71st Amendment) Order, 2025, on Tariff for retail broadband connectivity for Public Data Offices (PDOs) under the PM-WANI Scheme. TRAI has finalized its TTO (71st amendment), 2025 on Tariff for retail broadband connectivity for Public Data Offices (PDOs) under the PM-WANI Scheme. To ensure a balanced and inclusive approach, TRAI prescribes the following tariff framework for the PM-WANI Scheme: "Every service provider providing retail Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband services shall offer all of its retail FTTH broadband plans upto 200 Mbps to the PDOs under the PM-WANI scheme, at tariff not exceeding twice the tariff applicable to the retail subscribers for the corresponding FTTH broadband plan of the bandwidth (capacity) offered." This pricing framework has been designed to appropriately balance the interests of all stakeholders by ensuring affordability for small-scale Public Data Offices (PDOs) while also providing reasonable compensation for the broadband connection to the service providers. The proposed tariff framework takes into account prevailing market scenario, current levels of adoption of PM-WANI services, as well as potential future growth. By aligning with these considerations, the framework aims to facilitate the orderly, sustainable, and inclusive growth of the public Wi-Fi ecosystem under the PM-WANI initiative.
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
TRAI finalises tariffs to boost retail broadband connectivity under PM-WANI scheme
New Delhi: In a bid to boost the PM-WANI scheme , the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI ) on Monday issued pricing framework for retail broadband connectivity for wi-fi service providers or ' Public Data Offices ' (PDOs) to address challenges impeding the growth of public wi-fi hotspots. The telecom authority has finalised the Telecommunication Tariff (71st Amendment) Order, 2025, on tariff for retail broadband connectivity for PDOs. "Every service provider providing retail Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband services shall offer all of its retail FTTH broadband plans up to 200 Mbps to the PDOs under the PM-WANI scheme, at tariff not exceeding twice the tariff applicable to the retail subscribers for the corresponding FTTH broadband plan of the bandwidth (capacity) offered," the order read. The pricing framework has been designed to appropriately balance the interests of all stakeholders by ensuring affordability for small-scale PDOs, while also providing reasonable compensation for the broadband connection to the service providers. "The proposed tariff framework takes into account prevailing market scenario, current levels of adoption of PM-WANI services, as well as potential future growth. By aligning with these considerations, the framework aims to facilitate the orderly, sustainable, and inclusive growth of the public Wi-Fi ecosystem under the PM-WANI initiative," said the TRAI. On September 16, 2024, the Department of Communication (DoT) introduced amendments to the PM-WANI framework, removing the requirement for PDOs to enter commercial agreements with TSPs for internet connectivity In the light of DoT's amendment, stakeholders' comments and counter-comments received on draft TTO (70th amendment) and further internal analysis, the Authority issued revised draft Telecommunication Tariff (71st Amendment) Order on January 15, 2025. It proposed that the broadband tariff (FTTH) for PDOs under the PM-WANI scheme should not exceed twice the tariff applicable for retail broadband (FTTH) services of corresponding capacity offered by service providers, said the telecom authority.
