The Hindu Business Line : Spectrum shortage could make 3G licence expensive

New Delhi April 5 Third generation mobile licences for circles including Delhi and Mumbai could get expensive with the Department of Telecom being able to find only about 30 Mhz spectrum, including incoming and outgoing calls, in these cities.

This means that if DoT goes in for auction it will be able to accommodate only three GSM-based operators.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended that a total of 50 Mhz per circle should be made available to accommodate five operators.

As per industry standards, every operator should get at least 2X5Mhz spectrum per circle for ensuring good quality of service.

Spectrum is the basic raw material required to offer wireless communication services.

Third generation services will enable subscribers to access high-speed data services such as mobile TV on their handsets.

It will also enable operators to improve the quality of voice calls as 3G technology will allow the mobile companies to pack in more subscribers in lesser amount of spectrum.

Earlier, DoT had said that it had 45 MHz of spectrum available for 3G services.

3G spectrum is also in shortage in Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, North East and West Bengal. However, circles including Chennai, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa have enough radio frequency to accommodate five operators. Kerala for instance has 60 Mhz band available.

DoT is expected to announce the 3G policy by the end of the month.

The policy has been delayed by 3 months as the Government is finding it difficult to get spectrum vacated from the defence agencies.

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