India requires more of fiber network to increase bandwith delivery and better internet speed to the people, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman R.S. Sharma said on Thursday.

In his address at the ET Telecom Mobile Conclave 2018, he said: "93 per cent of our demand is catered by wireless broadband. We have to figure out a way of how to create a fibered or a wired network."

The TRAI has suggested the government to implement the BharatNet project - a government iniatiative to provide high-speed broadband connections to all panchayats by the end of 2019 - in the public-private partnership model, which is currently funded through the Universal service Obligation Fund, he said.

"We should use the existing cable tv infrastructure to provide broadband services," Sharma said.

As around 100 million homes have cable network for television, it would be easy to replace the current cables with fibre and get people connected to broadband, he said, adding that conversion of cables to fibre network would not require high investments.

To enhance wired broadband services, he said that the National Building Code should be reviewed and city developers and builders should be mandated to have specially demarcated zones for suitable housing communication infrastructure. 

On the 5G network, he said that operationalising 5G technologies would require significant infrastructure development, as current wireless networks will not be adequate.

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