India’s broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI has recommended that content delivery network (CDN) players should be registered with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through a simple online registration process.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also come up with the suggestive draft for the registration guidelines.

“The Authority also recommends that the registration for the CDN players should be done online through a portal in a similar manner as is being done for the infrastructure providers,” it said in its recommendations on ‘Regulatory Framework for Promoting Data Economy Through Establishment of Data Centres, Content Delivery Networks and Interconnect Exchanges in India’.

According to Cloudfare.com, a content delivery network refers to a geographically distributed group of servers which work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content.

A CDN allows for the quick transfer of assets needed for loading Internet content, including HTML pages, javascript files, stylesheets, images, and videos. The popularity of CDN services continues to grow, and today the majority of web traffic is served through CDNs, including traffic from major sites like Facebook, Netflix and Amazon, the website added.

While reiterating its recommendations on Net Neutrality issued in 2017, TRAI said that for monitoring and enforcement DoT may establish a multi-stakeholder body with a framework for collaborative mechanism among the stakeholders.

“The Authority reiterates that its recommendations on ‘Roadmap to Promote Broadband Connectivity and Enhanced Broadband Speed’, dated 31st August 2021, may immediately be implemented in totality as this will not only help in proliferation of broadband services, but also in establishment of supporting digital communication infrastructure as Data Centres, CDN Services and Interconnect Exchange,” the latest set of recommendations stated.

The regulator has also recommended that a separate authorization in

Unified License may be created for IXPs with terms and conditions that are much less onerous than ISP license authorization.

The terms and conditions, including minimum equity, minimum net worth, entry fee, bank guarantees, application processing fee, and maximum amount of penalty for this light touch license authorization, too have been outlined by the regulator.

With an eye on promoting Prime Minister Modi-led government’s ‘Make In India’ initiative, the regulator suggested that various incentives offered to other sectors could also be extended to CDN-related segments.

“The Authority recommends that in view of expanding markets and emerging demands for newer equipment, the government should extend the existing list of products under PLI and PPP- PMI schemes and explicitly include their classifications to prevent ambiguity as far as equipment related to CDN and IXP are concerned.

“Given the highly dynamic nature of digital communication sector, it is also recommended that the lists should be updated from time to time as per market requirements so that the schemes remain relevant and help nurture the domestic manufacturing segment,” TRAI said.