RCOM, Jio get government nod for spectrum sharing

The Department of Telecom approved spectrum sharing between Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Reliance Jio in nine circles, a regulatory filing said on Friday.

RCOM said the department has taken on record 800MHz spectrum sharing in seven circles of the company and two circles of Reliance Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary, with Jio on April 21, 2016.

The nine circles are Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East.

According to sources, this nod will allow RCOM and Jio to offer 4G services on 10 MHz block in 800 Mhz band. "Move paves way for similar arrangement in the remaining 13 Circles as well, where Reliance Jio will be acquiring spectrum from RCOM vide spectrum trading," one source added.

Based on International Telecommunications Union standards, a 10 Mhz block can provide up to 80 Mbps speed and, with the 800 Mhz spectrum advantage, this can deliver Internet faster than many wireline broadband and Wi-Fi services offered now at a much more affordable cost.

The subscriber capacity also multiplies exponentially when spectrum is combined into a single block of 10 Mhz.

--IANS

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