Govt introduces spectrum regulatory sandbox for testing telecom equipment
spectrum regulatory sandbox allowing entities including educational institutions, telcos and network manufacturers to test their equipment by paying a notional amount and doing registration.
As per Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, through the sandbox, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will be giving easy permissions to test new equipment that requires use of spectrum.
“Let’s say, a college design a new equipment which requires spectrum to be used for testing. Instead of coming to DoT for a license and a number of license conditions and a series of other requirements, can we create a very simple construct in which the college simply logs in through a portal and everything that needs to be done is done by paying a token amount of Rs 1000,” Vaishnaw said.
He added that was the thought process of designing the regulatory sandbox.
The sandbox or wireless test zones will enable hassle-free and flexible environment for R&D and technology trials. It will also help development of use cases in the present and next generation telecom technologies.
The test zones have been characterised in two categories. Under first category, experiment can be done in all the vacant frequency bands and can be established on campuses situated in urban or populated areas while in the other category, test zones can be established only in uninhabited remote areas.
The entities that can test the equipment include academia, R&D labs, telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, central and state government departments
