The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Thursday issued a consultation paper on ‘Regulatory Framework for Promoting Data Economy Through Establishment of Data Centres, Content Delivery Networks, and Interconnect Exchanges in India’.

The regulator said that digital infrastructure is boosting the data economy as the services are fast moving beyond the traditional telecom services domain. The key contemporary infrastructure that is required to boost the digital ecosystem and facilities include data centres, content delivery networks and Internet exchange points.

It added that the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP)-2018 also emphasizes that “digital infrastructure and services are increasingly emerging as key enablers and critical determinants of a country’s growth and well-being”, and as such the evolving enabling regulatory frameworks needs a review.

“Accordingly, this Consultation Paper has been initiated suo-moto by the Authority to seek the inputs of stakeholders on regulatory framework for promoting the establishment of (i) Data Centres, (ii) Content Delivery Networks, and (iii) Internet Exchange Points in the country,” TRAI said in a statement.

The consultation paper states to keep pace with the global data economy initiatives, it would be necessary to formulate reliable frameworks and policies that would encourage development of 5G, IoT, Data Centers, and associated services, data analytics, edge computing, digital platforms, and applications. As these services can be delivered remotely, India can become a global hub for such systems and services.