DoT seeks spectrum from dept of space for Wimax

It is not just the ministry of defence that the DoT is pushing for spectrum. It is also asking the department of space to vacate some of the radio waves for use of an advanced wireless broadband technology, "Wimax", that can be rolled out in inaccessible areas, thus helping bridge the telecom divide.

"Some spectrum on 2.3-2.5 Ghz band have been made available to the operators going for Wimax roll-out. We have to coordinate with department of space for releasing spectrum 3.3-3.8 Ghz as well as 2.5-2.7 Ghz band so that we can give it to Wimax operators. But it will take time," DoT sources said.

In South Korea, operators have each been given 30 Mhz of spectrum for Wimax.

Officials said operators want spectrum in 2.3-2.5 Ghz band and this is mostly occupied by department of space, which mainly uses it for satellite communications. One operator has also been given some spectrum on 3.2 Ghz band for the same. Wimax roll-out needs at least 700 Mhz of spectrum by multiple carriers.

Apart from uniform call rates, wide deployment of Wimax is another vision of Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and the DoT perceives that Wimax is the way to go as it can build on BSNL's fibre-optic network and be used in inaccessible areas for "last mile" connectivity.