Kapil Sibal frees up 10 units of spectrum for cordless communication

KOLKATA: Communications minister Kapil Sibal has ratified the telecom department's proposal to free up 10 units of airwaves in the 1,880-1,900 MHz band for cordless communication services. He has also asked it to conduct field trials in consultation with the armed forces, according to documents reviewed by ET.

Sibal has also seconded a DoT panel's recent rejection of sector regulator Trai's recommendation that 20 units of spectrum in the 1,880-1,900 MHz band be freed for cordless communications, agreeing that such a step would hit defence ministry operations.

"Trai may be asked to reconsider its earlier recommendations in the background of a DoT committee's alternate proposal of delicensing 10 units instead of the 20 MHz proposed by the sector regulator," Sibal is understood to have said. He also wants DoT's technical wing, the Telecom Engineering Centre, to formulate national standards to ensure coverage from cordless devices is confined indoors.

At present, airwaves in the 1,700-2,000 MHz band are equally split between DoT and the defence ministry. Defence authorities, in fact, claim freeing airwaves in this band, which lies within the 150 units block allocated to it, would "compromise India's national security".