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Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJio), the telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is seeking Microwave Backbone (MWB) frequency — airwaves used to connect towers — carriers in 6 and 7 GHz band on a “priority” basis.
“We require at least two MWB frequency carriers of 28 MHz paired bandwidth each in the 22 service areas in the 6 and 7 GHz spectrum band for point-to-point microwave backhaul links,” the company said in a request to the Department of Telecom.
The non-availability of MWB frequency carriers is severely hampering the rollout of its network, the letter, a copy of which was seen by BusinessLine , said.
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with wavelengths with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz.
The company, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, was allocated “only a few” MWA frequency carriers in 13 and 18 GHz band, which is not suitable for rollout in rural areas.
“These being high frequency bands, the hop lengths are typically short due to the high atmosphere loss as well as high attenuation in rains. Therefore, their usage is limited to intra metro routes or for short distance backhauls only,” the company said.
The MWB carriers in 6 and 7 GHz band are less susceptible to atmospheric vagaries and providing better up time. This will enable provision of good quality services to customers in the rural areas, it said. The rollout clauses of the Government also mention that the company is required to provide coverage across 50 per cent of the rural areas in a time-bound manner.
Backhaul spectrum Earlier, industry body Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) had sought for release for backhaul spectrum. Prior to which Telecom Regulatory Authority of India rolled out recommendations on the same, while the DoT on its part has constituted a committee to look into this.
RJio holds pan-India unified licence and spectrum in 1800 MHz (across 14 circles) and 2300 MHz (across 22 circles) and is gearing up to launch fourth generation wireless services in 2015.
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