In a move that could lead to improved quality of cellphone services for users, the Telecom Commission on Thursday gave approval for sharing of spectrum among operators.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the inter-ministerial panel to discuss the recommendations on spectrum sharing by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
*The industry, which has been seeking clarity on these guidelines for a long time now, welcomed the move and expressed hope that these will be cleared by the Cabinet. |
*For consumers, this is likely to lead to better quality of services — fewer call drops and faster data speeds. |
The guidelines are expected to be sent for Cabinet approval by the end of the month.
The industry, which has been seeking clarity on these guidelines for a long time now, welcomed the move and expressed hope that these will be cleared by the Cabinet.
In India, spectrum is divided among operators in small and fragmented manner. These guidelines are important as spectrum sharing will allow telecom companies to pool their spectrum holdings, leading to improved spectral efficiency. Sharing can also provide operators additional capacities in places where there is network congestion.
For consumers, this is likely to lead to better quality of services — fewer call drops and faster data speeds.
Rajan Mathews, Director General of industry body COAI said, “With these norms operators will be able to bring greater efficiency and better utilise spectrum. They will be able to aggregate spectrum, which is today very split up. This is essential for decent 3G and 4G services. It will lead to better quality of services for the consumers.”
The regulator also recommended allowing the trading of spectrum. As of now, only government is allowed to allocate spectrum to telecom firms through auctions.
Hemant Joshi, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP commented, “It is a positive move from the Telecom Commission (TC). To enable efficient usage of national resource — spectrum, we are hopeful Cabinet would approve the guidelines sent by TC on spectrum trading and sharing.”
“It will enable telecom companies, who have a lower subscriber base or un-utilised spectrum, to trade or share it. This move would be a boon for the industry, which will ultimately benefit the end consumer through better services,” he added.
