Spectrum release may get delayed

NEW DELHI: In what could further delay the vacation of spectrum (airwaves on which signal of mobile phone travels) by the defence forces, Indian Army has now said that spectrum cannot be released in a phased manner, as agreed earlier.

Instead, the Army has now said that it should be released for commercial use only after BSNL finishes building the alternate networks for the three wings ��� Army, Air Force and Navy ��� which is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Spectrum is crucial for all telecom companies, as it is the lifeline on which they offer their services. The spectrum crunch has caused deterioration in the quality of services, increased call drops and also acts as a roadblock for companies to expand their customer base.

As per the earlier agreement between the communications and the defence ministries, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy were scheduled to vacate these airwaves in a phased manner based on the progress of this alternative network.
BSNL is slated to complete the Air Force Network (AFNET) connecting 162 locations and built at the cost of Rs 1,077 crore by June 2009. The communication ministry, therefore, wants the airwaves used by the Air Force to be vacated within this time frame.

Indian Air Force was expected to vacate as much as 40 MHz of radio frequencies after the completion of this network which could have helped existing operators get additional airwaves, as they expand their subscriber base.

In a bid to resolve this deadlock, the panel of ministers, that is looking into the vacation of spectrum, during their meet this week, will decide if the airwaves will be released in a phased manner, or as per the demands of the Army. The group of ministers (GoM) will also consider approval of the Rs 14,623-crore funding for this alternative network. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will clear the funding for the project only after it has been endorsed by GoM.

All telecom service providers offer services using second generation (2G) airwaves. But, the government does not have enough 2G airwaves to meet the demands of existing players, as they expand their subscriber base as these frequencies are occupied by the defence forces.

Besides, several new entrants, who were granted licences last year, have not been given airwaves to launch services in many regions of the country.

Additionally, the government does not have adequate 3G radio frequencies, which allows telcos to offer high-end services such has video conferencing on mobiles, high-speed internet and fast downloads of movies and video clips, in nine of the 22 telecom circles in the country.

Cellular companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular can launch 3G services only after the radio frequencies vacated by the defence forces is reallocated to them through an auction process.