The Department of Telecom has moved a note to the empowered Group of Ministers for getting the Defence forces to vacate more spectrum. The DoT has sought 230 Mhz for mobile services, a major portion of which is for future 2G mobile services.

The Telecom Department has told the eGoM that release of airwaves will not only help in meeting the country's communication needs over the next five years, but also generate additional revenue of Rs 90,000 crore for the exchequer.

According to the note, the DoT has sought 130 Mhz of spectrum for 2G services, 60 Mhz for third generation (3G) and another 35 Mhz for CDMA-based mobile operators between 1,700 Mhz and 2,000 Mhz frequency bands.

If the Group of Ministers, headed by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, agrees to the DoT's proposal, it would provide a big relief to telecom companies that have been fighting for more airwaves to meet the growing demand for both voice and data services. More bandwidth will also enable operators to improve the quality of services to consumers.

row with Defence

However, the Defence Ministry is expected to oppose the plan. The Defence is already miffed with the DoT for not fulfilling the earlier agreement signed in May 2009. The DoT was to lay an optical fibre cable network for the armed forces in addition to creating an exclusive Defence spectrum band.

While the Defence forces released 20 Mhz of 3G spectrum as part of this agreement, differences have cropped up on the exact frequencies to be earmarked for the Defence band. According to the note, while the Defence has agreed to vacate 150 Mhz of airwaves, DoT wants another 80 Mhz. A high-powered committee under the Cabinet Secretary had earlier looked into this issue but could not arrive at any solution.

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