The Hindu Business Line : DoT may make spectrum allocation more stringent

Indian GSM operators' total spectral efficiency is 26 per cent of their Chinese counterparts' while CDMA operators' spectral efficiency is almost similar to that of Chinese operators.

New Delhi , Sept. 19

In a bid to ensure that mobile operators are using radio frequency efficiently, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to make spectrum allocation more stringent. The DoT is looking to introduce technical verification of the operator's network to check for factors such as the distance between two base stations and carrier deployment pattern.

The proposed move is being discussed internally and will be in addition to the already specified criteria of achieving a minimum number of subscribers before operators can apply for additional spectrum.

The technical verification is being proposed to be carried out only in the case of operators who want more than 10 Mhz radio frequency for GSM-based operators and beyond the 4th carrier for CDMA-based operator.

Industry Views

"We are considering whether some technical verification of efficient utilisation of allotted spectrum be done before allotting additional spectrum beyond 10 Mhz + 10 Mhz for GSM based services and beyond 4th CDMA carrier for CDMA based services, by a dedicated group in Wireless Planning and Co-ordination Wing. This proposed technical verification would be over and above the prescribed subscriber base criteria and could include, among others, the BTS density in a specified area, carrier deployment pattern," said a DoT official. Views of the industry are also being sought before finalising the guidelines for efficient spectrum usage.

Mobile operators in India have been repeatedly asked by the Government to improve the efficiency in using radio frequency since it is a scarce resource. According to some industry estimates, Indian GSM operators' total spectral efficiency is 26 per cent of their Chinese counterparts' while CDMA operators' spectral efficiency is almost similar to that of Chinese operators. India is currently having 122.8 million subscribers of which 86.2 million are on GSM network.

"While two Chinese GSM operators have almost 400 million subscribers using 50 MHz spectrum, in India four operators are sharing 40 Mhz spectrum to accommodate about 90 million users. This means China's spectral efficiency for GSM network is at 7.8 million subscribers for each MHz of spectrum used, GSM players in India are accommodating 2.5 million subscribers per Mhz," said an industry source.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Mother Dairy to set up bourse for farm produce

Three concurrent systems dictating peninsular weather

Goldman Sachs to invest $1 b more

Mobile number portability may be delayed further

DoT may make spectrum allocation more stringent

Households investing more in stocks, MFs

Forex reserves: Reddy for low-risk investments

MIPs stage a comeback

GE rationalises IT services vendors

Now, multiple lasers on a silicon slab

Profit-booking brings Sensex down by 237 points intra-day

Sugar stocks: Active on price hike buzz

AP move spurs Jain Irrigation

India demands greater say in IMF decision-making process