Mobile operators said that phone users can expect to get better quality of service with the telecom regulator recommending that spectrum sharing should be allowed.

“This is a good move as it will allow operators to get access to more spectrum which in turn will lead to better quality of services. The Government also stands to gain as it would get higher revenue share,” said Rajan Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators’ Association of India

According to the TRAI recommendation, spectrum can be shared between operators having bandwidth in the same frequency bands. This means an operator with spectrum in 1800 MHz band can share with another player in the same frequency band. Earlier, TRAI had barred sharing for 3G spectrum. In the revised recommendations, this limitation has been removed. For example, Airtel with 5 MHz spectrum for 3G services in Delhi can make it 10 MHz by sharing airwaves with Vodafone. This would help operators improve quality of services. TRAI has also proposed to allow spectrum that has been allocated administratively.

In the earlier recommendations, operators that bought spectrum through an auction were allowed to share. This would help players such as Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications as they have a large amount of administratively allocated airwaves.

The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers, representing Tata Tele and RCom, said, “We are very happy that TRAI has accepted our suggestion that operators holding administratively allocated spectrum may share their spectrum without paying any additional charge for liberalisation. This will allow such operators to benefit from additional spectrum for offering their current tranche of services without bearing an additional financial burden.”

Ambiguity persists

However, there are still some issues that need clarity. It is not clear how the recent ruling by the telecom tribunal allowing intra-circle roaming arrangements impact spectrum sharing rules. The TDSAT ruling had in effect allowed operators to share spectrum irrespective of the frequency bands or the service offered.

The TDSAT had ruled that spectrum is technology neutral and hence an operator cannot be bound to specific frequency bands. This means an operator with 1800 MHz band can offer 3G services by doing a deal with another player with spectrum 2100 MHz band. But the TRAI recommendations are contrary to this ruling.

The other major issue is the cap imposed on operators on the maximum spectrum they can hold. Existing rules bar operators from holding more than 25 per cent of the total spectrum available in a given circle. “This cap would mean that big players with sizeable spectrum holding will not be able to share airwaves,” said Mathews.

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