Cross-Sector Infrastructure Sharing Réseau Arabe des Régulateurs des Télécoms et des Technologies de l'information Rabat, March 6, 2014 Rajendra Singh, Senior Regulatory Specialist

Cross-Sector Synergy We are all convinced that sharing infrastructure within Telecom and across Energy, Transport Sectors is a Win-Win Situation and sharing of infrastructure will bring down the cost of telecom services; This is also applicable to Gas and water, or any other linear infrastructure; OPGW is laid along Electricity Transmission Lines because this is must for Operation & Maintenance of Electricity System; Optical Fiber cable is laid along Railway Lines because Railway operation needs telecom connectivity; Electricity Sector and Railways use could be less than 0.01 percent of total capacity. Should not Electricity and Railways make more money by selling the surplus capacity in telecom market and contribute to growth of Telecom and Internet connectivity?

Road Construction and Telecom Connectivity Road Construction involves lot of earth work and trenching, which constitute percent of Optical Fiber System Cost, so why to duplicate this trenching work- Once for road construction and then again for Optical Fiber Cable? The typical incremental cost for laying HDPE pipe at the time of construction of road could be less than 0.02 percent of total road construction cost. Once this pipe is laid at the time of road construction then telecom companies can simply pull the optical fiber cable inside this pipe and duplication of trenching is avoided. This will save lot of money and increase road life and quality. In addition, no inconvenience, no damage to infrastructure by multiple trenching. Telecom Connectivity Helps in implementation of Intelligent Transport System (ITS).

International Experience If it is so good, then this must be happening in many countries – the answer is YES Most of the Electricity Transmission companies and Railways are leasing out their surplus capacities in telecom market on an open access basis (i.e. not exclusivity contract). – Few examples of Railways are: Georgia Railways, Bangladesh Railways, most of European Railways, Indian Railways and many more. – Examples of Electricity Companies are: Indonesia, Bhutan, Turkey, Vietnam, Brazil, USA, Canada, India, and many more.

International Experience – Road and Telecom Maharashtra State, India- Policy decision Laying the duct at the time of constructing new roads. Afghanistan – National policy decision and execution through budget order issued by MoF. Future planned activities in Iraq and Yemen both North – South Transport Highway Corridor Projects.

Thank you!