The Hindu Business Line : TRAI for overhaul of spectrum management

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has suggested that the existing spectrum allocation and management structure should be given more autonomy and made broadbased by involving key stakeholders such as the Defence, Railways and academicians.

TRAI said that the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing under the Department of Telecom, which is responsible for spectrum allocation at present, did not have adequate resources to handle the increasing demand for radio frequency.

The TRAI chief, Mr Nripendra Misra, told Business Line: "WPC is inadequate for the future growth in telecom services, which would be wireless centric. It was set up at a time when the users of spectrum were mostly limited to a few government departments and agencies.

Now the number of spectrum users has increased manifold. Further, technological advances have opened the possibility of development of new wireless technologies and this necessitates a paradigm shift in spectrum management."

Needed more liberalisation

Mr Misra said that while the telecom sector has been liberalised, the same approach is also necessary in the management of spectrum as at present procedures and the processes remain tied to the legacy.

"As we move towards a wireless world, it is important to plan for the future so that non availability of adequate spectrum does not hinder the progress and growth of telecom services in the country. While we should make spectrum allocation based on a roadmap, there is also a need for completely streamlining the procedures," said Mr Misra.

TRAI has said that spectrum management should also include effective monitoring and periodical updating of usage of spectrum to avoid hoarding of spectrum by the service providers.

"This whole issue is not to be dealt with in piecemeal but should be taken up as a long-term policy issue. From this perspective, it becomes necessary to handle it through an inter-departmental coordination committee under DoT at the highest level," Mr Misra said.

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