India Needs Secure, Interoperable and Technology-Neutral Critical Communications Network: Experts

India needs a secure, interoperable and technology-neutral critical communications architecture capable of keeping essential services connected during disasters and other emergencies, experts said at the Critical Communications India Conference, which concluded on Thursday.

The conference brought together senior officials from the government, regulators, public safety and disaster management agencies, standards organisations and the global mission-critical communications industry to discuss how India can strengthen its emergency communications infrastructure.

Harinder Kumar, Secretary at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), called for a coordinated effort to ensure that interoperable critical communication systems reach all intended users and continue to evolve with technological advances.

“Critical communications is a complex ecosystem and the requirements differ for different kinds of disasters,” Kumar said, noting that India has made significant progress in strengthening public warning systems.

He said the next priority should be ensuring that these capabilities are accessible to everyone who needs them, while also keeping the systems adaptable to emerging technologies.

Kumar also highlighted the slow growth of captive private networks in India and called for the barriers preventing their wider adoption to be examined.

He urged the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Home Affairs, disaster management agencies and telecom operators to work together to develop hardened telecommunications infrastructure in areas vulnerable to disasters.

The conference was organised by the Broadband India Forum (BIF) in association with the Critical Communications Association (TCCA).

Focus on next-generation emergency networks

Discussions at the conference covered proof-of-concept projects, interoperability between networks and devices, next-generation device ecosystems, control centres and compatibility with existing legacy equipment.

A key question discussed by experts was whether India should establish a dedicated Broadband Public Protection and Disaster Relief (BB-PPDR) network or make use of capacity available on existing commercial telecom networks.

Participants stressed that whichever approach is adopted, emergency communications must provide seamless interoperability, priority access for first responders and strong operational resilience.

Experts also emphasised the need for extensive field testing so that communication systems can continue functioning reliably under extreme conditions, including natural disasters and other large-scale emergencies.

The conference also examined the findings of a major proof-of-concept exercise conducted by state police and public safety agencies in coordination with the Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW).

The exercise was carried out at six locations covering different geographical regions, terrains and climatic conditions, providing valuable insights into how next-generation critical communication systems perform in real-world environments.

An expert session highlighted the operational lessons emerging from extensive user trials and stressed that continued coordination between government agencies, technology providers, telecom operators and end users will be essential before large-scale deployment.

The discussions underline a growing need for India to build an emergency communications ecosystem that is not tied to a single technology or network, but can bring different systems together and remain dependable when conventional communications infrastructure is under maximum pressure.