DoT wants services to free up spectrum fast

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked the Group of Ministers (GoM) on telecom spectrum to direct the Ministry of Defence to immediately release 20 Mhz spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band for mobile phone operators.

Further, it wants the defence ministry to commit to releasing complete spectrum of 75 Mhz pairs in the 1,800 Mhz band over the next three years.

The department has also asked the finance ministry to give in-principle approval to budgetary financing for changing the defence services communication equipment. The exact requirement of budgetary support has not been finalised as yet.

The government's wireless adviser has said spectrum needs to be "refarmed" (vacated from existing users mostly by voluntary withdrawal). A draft note for the GoM suggests that the DoT should introduce incentives for efficient use of spectrum in the pricing mechanism for allocation. The note has been approved by the Communications and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

The note also proposes that the Department of Space be requested to vacate 95 Mhz (out of the total 190 Mhz in the 2.5 Ghz band) for deployment of third generation mobile networks as well as WiMax broadband access services.

It has also suggested that the department be asked to vacate 150 Mhz of spectrum initially and another 200 Mhz (3.4-3.6 Ghz) for WiMax services. This allocation will be out of the extended C-band spectrum for satellite systems, it adds.

In the projected spectrum requirements for existing mobile operators in 2007, the note has said Kolkata would require the highest spectrum of 19.30 Mhz, followed by Mumbai with 15.70 Mhz, Delhi with 15.50 Mhz and Chennai with 3.60 Mhz.

By 2010, the note estimates that Kolkata will require 35.50 Mhz additional spectrum, while Mumbai and Delhi will need 29.40 Mhz and 29.20 Mhz, respectively. Chennai is projected to need 17.30 Mhz.