R-Jio asks for microwave backbone carriers

Company says rollout of its network hampered due to non-availability of microwave backbone frequency carriers

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries, has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to allocate microwave backbone frequency carriers in 6/7 GHz band.

In a letter on October 13, the company has said that it requires at least two microwave backbone carriers of 28MHz paired bandwidth each in all 22 telecom zones in the 6/7GHz band for point to point radiowave backhaul links.

The company has noted that rollout of its network is severely hampered due to non-availability of microwave backbone frequency carriers. Allocation of the microwave backbone frequency will help the company to meet rollout obligations, and it would also be able to offer its long-term evolution (LTE) services in the rural areas.