Second Edition of FTTH India Summit 2018 Celebrates the Vision of Building a High Speed Digital India

The second edition of FTTH India Summit 2018 was held today in Mumbai. The summit witnessed participation from over 400 participants comprising of industry leaders, policy makers, innovators, regulators, technology providers, manufacturers and partners across the Indian telecom sector across the telecom industry. Organised by FTTH Conference Committee and Bharat Exhibitions, the event was sponsored by marquee industry leaders led by BSNL, Reliance Jio, GAIL (India) and Sterlite Tech. The event being held a couple of days following the announcement of the new National Digital Communications Policy 2018 – that lays a strong foundation for government’s push towards high speed connectivity for all Indians by 2022.

Addressing the Summit, TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum & Chairman, FTTH India Conference Committee, said “In the past couple of years, India has perhaps witnessed one of the fastest rates of growth in the world when it comes to connectivity. The internet revolution in the recent years was led by mobile led broadband. However, for India to truly make its mark in digital arena globally, has to unleash the power of fibre connectivity. The Indian internet 2.0 revolution will be led by the fibre optics network – and it is the right time galvanise the focus and intellect of the industry as a whole to set sight on the future. I am extremely humbled and excited to witness the participation from all quarters at the FTTH India Summit 2018. I am confident that the views and thoughts exchanged at this Summit will go on to make tangible difference on the ground and propel India to the global rankings in high speed connectivity in the coming years.”

The Summit was addressed by eminent speakers including N. Sivasailam, Special Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Sunil K Gupta, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Anuj Jain, President - Jio GigaFiber Business, Reliance Jio, K S Rao, CEO, Telecom Services Business, Sterlite Tech and A.K. Jana, Chief Executive Officer, GAIL Gas Limited.

N. Sivasailam, Special Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, speaking to the eminent participants, said, “Connectivity in India is set to witness an orbital shift. The Government’s vision to provide 50 mbps universal broadband connectivity to each Indian and 10 gbps connectivity to each gram panchayat by 2022 will be built on fibre optic cable networks given its ability to handle volume and speed with uncompromising security. While the Government will leave no stone unturned in achieving its vision, the same will not be possible without sustained support from all quarters of industry. This is a revolution that will put Indian fibre optic cable industry into the spotlight at a global stage.”

Sunil K. Gupta, Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in his inaugural address, said, “Fibre optics led connectivity ushers a new era for Indian consumers across segments – having the potential to emerge as a great disruptor towards convenience and efficiency. With the announcement of new telecom policy, the Government of India has defined its vision to lead the country into a new era of connectivity. This vision will be built on fibre optic cables. It is an exciting opportunity for every stakeholder and will establish India among the developed nations in terms of connectivity.”

Speaking at the inaugural session, A.K. Jana, Chief Executive Officer, GAIL Gas Limited, said “India is on course to emerge as a smart nation, owing to its thrust to create smart infrastructure in terms of cities, connectivity and basic amenities. In fact, given the scale of the vision, it would be safe to say that fibre to the home technology resembles an idea whose time has indeed arrived. As the ecosystem of connectivity solutions broaden in terms of applications, usage and adoption – there is going to be a paradigm shift in the volume of data being consumed. This resembles a never before opportunity for the optical fibre cable industry and would also redefine the age of connectivity in India in years to come.”

Anuj Jain, President - Jio GigaFiber Business, Reliance Jio added, “The Government’s vision of a high speed digitally connected India will demand uniformity in speed, latency and experience across consumer class. It is only possible using a connected fixed line as the same is much more reliable and stable than a mobile connection. Being an industry leader in 4G, we at Reliance Jio are now focusing on offering a lightning fast and cost efficient connectivity solution though gigafibre technology. We believe that the consumer of new India will continuously adopt technology and habits which will necessitate high speed connectivity with no-latency – only made possible by fibre optic technology. It is a great opportunity for the industry to grow and contribute to the nation’s progress at the same time.”

Speaking at the Summit, KS Rao, CEO, Telecom Services Business, Sterlite Tech, said “It was my dream for the past 25 years to witness such participation in an event on fibre optic networks. The attendance in the Summit reinforces my belief in the power of the solution to lead high speed connectivity of a young, data hungry and ambitious nation. As the new age users demand flexible and agile solutions led by cloud and software, India is on-course to set a hyperscale network – this time based on fixed connectivity. The potential opportunity for the industry can be simply summed up in one fact – India in the last 20 years has deployed 2 mn kms of optic cable and in line with the National Digital Communications Policy 2018, it needs to deploy 2.2 mn kms of optic cable in the next 5 years! The potential is unprecedented for the industry”.

FTTH India Summit 2018 was sponsored by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Reliance Jio, Gail India Ltd., Sterlite Telecom, Savitri Telecom Services, Viavi Solutions, R&M, Lepton Software, MTNL, Molex, PDR Videotronics and Keith Electronics. The event was supported by Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India, COAI and TAIPA and the Knowledge Partner was Broadband India Forum.