The Highways of Tomorrow

[Commentary] In the first of three blogs this week that will feature some of the expert insights from the forthcoming 2016 State of Broadband Commission Report, Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, describes how his company, Bharti Airtel Limited, is building a network to bring broadband connectivity to a billion people in India and contributing exceptionally to using information communication technology (ICT) to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1 (no poverty).

Broadband networks are the highways of tomorrow. In India, they also constitute a critical driver of economic growth and inclusion. These networks not only bring the government to the citizens’ doors through e-governance modules but help link producers and consumers to the marketplace as well. Banking, education and healthcare can ride networks to reach citizens in the most remote regions. India’s Broadband Dream – ‘Extending access to the next billion’ – will be driven primarily by growth in wireless, requiring both massive investment by operators but a supportive regulatory environment as well. The Government needs to address relevant policy and operational issues proactively (such as Right of Way) and, most importantly, to keep in perspective the long-term financial health of the sector while deciding on pricing of spectrum, the lifeblood of mobility.

[Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises.]