The government may relax the Telecom Engineering Centre's recently finalised spectrum allocation criterion, the minimum subscriber limits that entitle mobile service operators to additional spectrum, radio frequencies that enable mobile communications.
Kickstarting the process to introduce mobile number portability, telecom regulator Trai will soon set up a steering committee of operators, industry associations and telecom engineering centres.
Members of COAI, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Idea Cellular and others met in New Delhi and decided to go ahead with filing of the affidavit in TDSAT against the Telecom Engineering Centre's report. COAI has also questioned the government's move to allocate spectrum to two telecom PSUs -- BSNL and MTNL -- saying they have been given frequency out of turn as many other players have been waiting to get spectrum for months and even years now.
TEC, the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, is planning to recommend a steep increase in spectrum usage charges for GSM mobile service providers that seek additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and raised the bar on access.
TEC, the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications, is planning to recommend a steep increase in spectrum usage charges for GSM mobile service providers that seek additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and raised the bar on access.
The eight-member committee set up to look into new subscriber-base norms for spectrum allocation has left it to the Department of Telecom to consider either the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or Telecom Engineering Centre, DoT's technical wing.
The Telecom Engineering Centre, the technical wing of the DoT, has submitted its much-awaited report on spectrum allocation to the Member (Technology) of the Telecom Commission. The report, which is the last hope for GSM-based players for additional spectrum allocation, is believed to have gone along with the TRAI's recommendation of increasing subscriber base for awarding additional radio waves.
The government on Wednesday said it will not allocate any spectrum to existing operators, license holders and new applicants till a scientific evaluation was done by the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC)."There is scarcity of spectrum and number of applicants are much more than actually can be accommodated... Applications must be synchronised by a legal process... We have referred the matter to Law Ministry to get Solicitor General's views on the matter," Telecom Minister A Ra
The draft guidelines prepared by the Telecom Engineering Centre and under consideration of the department of telecommunication have suggested, among other things, that children below 16 years should be discouraged from using cellular phones.
The government has accepted Telecom Engineering Centre's report that has suggested tough norms for spectrum allocation to GSM operators, a move that may make it difficult for players like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to get additional frequency.
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