By Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (INP-WealthPK): The federal cabinet approved the Right of Way (RoW) policy in January 2021 for the telecom industry. The policy will seriously address a significant number of barriers faced by telecom and internet service providers in the maintenance of their equipment and network expansion across the country. RoW is the legal right in which government allows the telecom industry to pass fibers and towers along a specific route through grounds or properties belonging to others. If someone damages the telecom equipment, cases could be filed against them under the criminal and anti-terrorism laws. The new regulation will facilitate the process of acquiring land for installation of mobile towers and speed up delivery of mobile infrastructure. The key provisions of the policy include one-window operation, fee determination, dispute resolution, ensuring national security, guarding against health hazards, declaring telecom infrastructure as critical infrastructure, sharing of RoW, and establishing common service corridors across the country. The policy will cover developed land including roads, footpaths and areas where electricity and railway infrastructures have been installed, as well as non-developed areas like grounds etc. Why we need Right of Way (RoW) policy? The absence of a Right of Way (RoW) policy remained a major roadblock for building digital infrastructure in Pakistan. The new policy will play a pivotal role in fulfilling the vision of “Digital Pakistan” that aims to promote the modern telecommunication services and resolve issues concerning establishment of telecommunication systems. The policy will become a key enabler for expediting the deployment of underground (optical fiber) and overground (mobile towers) infrastructure in Pakistan. Because of the lack of a RoW policy, Pakistan was lagging behind all its neighbors. Only Afghanistan is below us in the telecom sector. Hopefully, the new policy will reduce the hurdles in the way of telecommunication companies and improve people’s quality of life and economic well-being by ensuring availability of accessible, affordable, universal and high-quality ICT services. Telecom sector has made significant contributions to the economic growth of the country and contributed over Rs630 billion to the national exchequer during the FY2020-21, which is indeed commendable. Today, we have 187 million mobile and smartphones connections with more than 85% tele-density. Furthermore, this policy will help generate more revenues in near future. Pakistan has a highly strong public-private partnership mechanism whereby digital divide is being bridged through the telecom sector’s contribution of 1.5% of its annual gross revenue in the Universal Service Fund and 0.5% being contributed towards the Research and Development Fund leading towards incubations and start-up eco systems. Future benefits of RoW policy The policy will attract more firms to Pakistan’s telecommunications market, because it provides legal cover to telecom and digital infrastructure. The policy is envisaged to facilitate removal of obstacles in laying fiber optic cables and telecom installations throughout the state. Such smooth dispensing of the RoW can lay down the foundation for digitalization in Pakistan. This policy will also help attract more investment in the telecom industry leading to economic boost. Implementation of the RoW policy can ensure widespread public introduction of 5G services in the country. Pakistan has stated the plan to introduce 5G internet by the end of 2022. SMEs make up about 90% of all businesses in the country and provide employment to 80% of the non-agrarian human resources. Their contribution accounts for 40% of the state’s GDP per annum. By swift furnishing of the RoW to the applicants, the Pakistan Telecommunication Association (PTA) will be encouraging SMEs to discover the opportunities engendered by 5G. The goal of the RoW policy is to create an environment that promotes "Ease of Doing Business." The policy directive is a major indication of the state’s increased commitment to digitalization and its implementation would improve connectivity and increase internet speed across the country.