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    Apex panel urges space department, defence to vacate spectrum for 5G services

    Synopsis

    DoT has urged the government to release a whopping 3,000 units of premium millimeter waves in the 26-28 Ghz bands and 125 units in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz for 5G services. The airwaves are with DoS and the defence ministry.

    telecom 1Agencies
    The DoS, however, has raised concerns over possible interference of 5G signals in data collection by satellites for weather forecast which is crucial in the wake of climate change.
    An apex panel of secretaries has nudged the Department of Space (DoS) and the defence ministry to favourably consider the telecom department’s request to part with all idle 5G spectrum – both in the coveted 26 Ghz band and those in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz frequencies – for commercial use by telecom companies.

    “The committee of secretaries has asked both the ministry of defence and DoS to positively look at requests made by DoT for reassigning these airwaves for 5G services,” a senior government official told ET. The panel is headed by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, and comprises the secretaries of home, defence, railways, telecom, I&B and DoS.

    The official added that the defence ministry and DoS have “assured the committee” that they would consider Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) requests. The DoS, he said, would specifically examine if it can assign 5G spectrum to DoT in all locations, excepting the ones where it is already using the bandwidths requested.

    DoT has urged the government to release a whopping 3,000 units of premium millimeter waves in the 26 Ghz band and 300 units in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz for 5G services. The airwaves are with DoS and the defence ministry.

    The DoT and telcos want access to both mid-band spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz range and millimeter waves, especially since the global 5G ecosystem is rapidly developing around the 26 Ghz band. But DoS, which has chunks of these millimeter waves, has been averse to parting with it amid fears that it could cause interference between satellite and 5G mobile networks.

    Telcos, though, have warned that without 26 Ghz spectrum, 5G roll outs would get much costlier and India wouldn’t be able to leverage the global devices ecosystem, especially since the US, China, South Korea and Japan have backed 5G deployments on these super-efficient millimeter waves.

    The panel of secretaries, it is learnt, has also urged the defence and information & broadcasting ministries to check if they hold any idle sub-Ghz spectrum in the 700 Mhz band, which can also be re-assigned to DoT.

    The government plans to hold a 4G airwaves sale in early-2021, which may be followed by a sale of 5G airwaves later in the year.

    The DoT though is yet to clear the air on the timeline of India’s first 5G spectrum sale and bands on offer. Without clarity on these scores, experts say telcos have historically been forced to splurge top dollars to stock up on this critical natural resource, which is a key reason for their high debt and weak balance sheets.

    The telecom sector is saddled with debt of over Rs 8.55 lakh-crore, including those related to government dues on spectrum purchases.


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    ( Originally published on Oct 15, 2020 )
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