DoT asks Noida International Airport to allow telcos to set up infrastructure

New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the upcoming Noida International Airport to allow telecom operators to set up in-building networks in a non-discriminatory, fair, and transparent manner in a bid to avoid a standoff similar to the one at the Navi Mumbai airport. DoT said the Noida airport is a public entity under the Telecommunications Act.

DoT issued the note after the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), a lobby group of telecom companies, sought pre-emptive clarification on right of way (RoW) permissions at Noida airport. The Navi Mumbai airport authorities didn't allow the companies to install their own infrastructure, turning the airport into a no-network zone.

"It is clarified, in terms of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, Noida International Airport qualifies as a 'public entity' for the purposes of the said Act and the rules framed thereunder," DoT said in a letter sent to the CEO of Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd., the operator of the airport, on February 19. "Accordingly, the obligations and responsibilities prescribed for the public entities under the Act are applicable."

ET has seen a copy of the letter.

Passengers using the Navi Mumbai airport haven't been able to access mobile networks and have to instead log in to public WiFi to use the internet.

The letter to Noida airport added that the rules under the act provides a statutory framework to grant RoW permissions to facility providers including licensed operators to establish, operate and maintain telecom networks within the premises of a public building.

"The provisions mandate non-discriminatory, fair, and transparent processing of RoW applications within the prescribed timeline and conditions," the letter said.

A similar letter was sent to Navi Mumbai airport authorities earlier in February providing the same clarification. Telcos expect authorities at that airport to soon grant the necessary permissions needed to set up their own infrastructure.

The Adani-run Navi Mumbai airport had asked telcos to use its exclusive in-building telecom network. The telecom companies said the charges for this were unreasonably high.

Similar issues are being faced by telcos at the newly inaugurated Aqua Line of the Mumbai Metro, where a third party has set up the network and wants telcos to pay for its use. Telecom operators have so far refused, stating that the charges being sought are exorbitant and commercially untenable. They have approached other privately run airport authorities to prevent any similar conflicts from arising and had asked DoT to intervene in a meeting on December 30.