Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Sep 09, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Sep 09, 2007 ePaper |
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Telecommunications Info-Tech - Regulatory Bodies & Rulings Government - Security Spectrum deal being worked out
Thomas K. Thomas New Delhi, Sept. 8 In a move that would spell relief to mobile operators, the Department of Telecom and the Defence Ministry are working out a compromise formula that would make available additional spectrum of up to 55 Mhz in three phases by April 2008. As part of the deal being worked out by the two sides, the DoT will agree to lay an optical fibre cable for the army and navy also at its own cost. Earlier, the DoT had made plans to set up a cable system only for the Air Force. The agreement will be vetted by the Group of Ministers headed by the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, before it is finalised. As per the deal being thrashed out by the two departments, the Defence will vacate 5 Mhz each for Delhi and Mumbai immediately for 2G mobile services. Another 10 Mhz of 2G mobile spectrum and 10 Mhz for third generation mobile services will be vacated by January 2008. In the third phase, 10 Mhz spectrum for 2G and 10-15 Mhz of 3G spectrum will be made available. Growth base
“Spectrum is the most essential requirement for growth of wireless telecom services. It is a scarce resource, which needs to be allocated in ways that maximise its economic value. Hence, it needs to be utilised in optimum and efficient manner by all users. Its inadequacy will not only hamper the growth but also adversely affect the quality of service. “The spectrum congestion has been hampering telecom operators in their bid to expand network and consumer base. The demand for spectrum is growing exponentially. Present level of spectrum allocated to mobile operators is much below the international averages. Therefore, DoT has to make further spectrum available for fuelling the mobile growth,” said the agreement document that is to be signed between the two Ministries. Cable plan
In return, DoT will provide a cable network for the Air Force connecting 162 locations across the country. Phase 1 covering 54 sites is expected to be completed by end of this month and the next phase covering 39 sites will be done by December 2007. The remaining 69 sites will be connected by March 2008. DoT will cough up Rs 1,040 crore just for completing the first two phases. The cable system for the Army and Navy will be taken up by DoT in the second phase.
Related Stories: Remove cap on number of mobile operators in a circle, says TRAI ‘Defence open to vacating spectrum’ Army, Navy refuse to give up radio frequency Air Force may soon vacate spectrum for mobile users More Stories on : Telecommunications | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Security
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