Govt may allow telcos to share spectrum

The government is mulling allowing telecom operators to share spectrum among themselves to overcome the frequency shortage, resulting in congestion of networks and poor quality services.

The move would allow mobile operators with relatively less number of subscribers to share spectrum with other players operating larger networks.

Spectrum is the radio frequency required by cellular operators to offer wireless mobile services.

“Yes, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking at the proposal to allow sharing of spectrum,” Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura told reporters on the sidelines of a C-DOT function.

“We have referred the matter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). They will give us a comprehensive report,” Behura added.

Analyst feel, if allowed, two new players may join hands to combine the initial spectrum allocated to them. This would not only help in reducing the infrastructure costs but also result in better quality of services with less number of subscribers and more spectrum.

The move will also benefit the existing mobile operators who have been seeking additional spectrum with the increase in number of subscribers but are unable to get due to its scarcity.