Telecom operators urge government for spectrum auction in direct-to-mobile services
mobile phone operators have called on the government to auction spectrum that would be used for direct-to-mobile (D2M) services in a technology neutral manner.
The telcos petition comes in the wake of the government exploring a proposal to deliver broadcasting or TV content directly to mobile phones without a data connection and is considering reserving 526-582 MHz spectrum for such D2M services.
But telcos say this spectrum is «precious» as they are already being identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for mobility services.
«This spectrum needs to be assigned through auctions in a technology neutral manner. The successful bidders should be able to deploy this spectrum either for broadcasting (D2M) or IMT (mobility services) or both as per the requirement and under the terms of their service licence,» industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) submitted on behalf of the telcos.
All the three private operators in India — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — are the core members of COAI.
The government is currently undertaking a consultation process on the issue.
So far, no decision around spectrum allocation and its methodology have been taken, officials said.
ET earlier reported about telecom operators, chip makers, network providers and handset makers strongly opposing any hurried decision on a proposed D2M service as the technology was still immature.
As per the telcos, if the spectrum is auctioned, it will allow them to utilise the airwaves flexibly within the networks for IMT and broadcasting services. «This will help in ensuring optimal utilisation of this precious spectrum for IMT and leveraging broadcasting capabilities to save bandwidth on the network.
