New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS): The Tower & Infrastructure Providers Association(TAIPA) has said that the government should resolve important issues concerning the telecom sector before the rollout of 5G connectivity in the country.

In a statement, the industry body urged the government to solve the issues regarding right of way (RoW), lack of uniform charges, unavailability of online portal and multi-body approvals.

T.R. Dua, Director-General, TAIPA said: "Telecom being a capital-intensive business, needs huge investment in development of robust communication infrastructure to be able to provide services based on new upcoming technologies."

According to TAIPA, the immediate enhancement of the scope of telecom infrastructure providers under the existing registration framework will also expedite the creation of robust telecom infrastructure and to fulfill the agenda of 'Digital India'.

The statement noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the critical role of telecom infrastructure in keeping economies functioning and connected.

The load on local mobile networks is immense in developing countries such as India. Moreover, the digitization accelerated by Covid-19 in all likelihood, permanently changed people's lifestyles, even after normalcy is restored, it said.

"This would translate to the need for more in-fill capacity in dense, urban areas and further strengthening of the infrastructure to meet the shift in mobile & internet usage from industrial to residential," it said.