TRAI Recommends Sharing All Categories of Spectrums
TRAI Recommends Sharing All Categories of Spectrums
Currently telecom operators are allowed to share only passive infrastructure such as mobile towers. The companies have been demanding the allowing of spectrum sharing for some time now. The TRAI has heard their call for help. As per the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India the sharing of all categories of spectrums is now allowed.
TRAI's recommendation is likely to provide advantageous for major operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. The companies will now be able to reduce the cost of the services and improve the quality at the same time.
All access spectrum or spectrum in bands of 800/900/1800/2100/2300/2500 MHz can provide sharable as both licences have spectrum in the same band according to recommendations issued by TRAI.
The telecom regulator has also said that on or both of the licencees sharing the spectrum that have administratively assigned spectrum allocated in absence of auction in the band will be permitted to provide only those services as allowed in the administratively held spectrum when sharing spectrum.
As per the regulator this will improve the capacity of the operators to achieve optimal spectral efficiency. Sharing also provides additional network capacities where spectrum crunch may be causing network congestion.
Jaideep Ghosh who is the partner at KPMG indicated that TRAI needs to take cognizance of the practical challenges arising out of spectrum sharing by operators as per media reports. What he has outlines is that coordinated network planning and actual realised capacity in a sharing scenario is lower compared to when spectrums are being single operated. This has resulted in reasonable increase in spectrum charge as well as nominal charges that have to be paid up.
As per the guidelines proposed by the regulatory body post-spectrum sharing the SUC or spectrum usage charges will increase by 0.5 percent for both the licencees. The non-refundable processing fee of 50000 rupees for each operator per service area when operators go in for spectrum sharing has also been announced as per the TRAI guidelines.
The regulator has also indicated that 50% of the spectrum held by one telecom operator in spectrum band being shared will be taken as additional spectrum for the other. This is as per the calculation purpose under the spectrum cap rule.
The rule also stipulated that a telecom company can hold about a maximum of 50% spectrum assigned to all companies in the circle and a 25% in frequency band. It has been reiterated by the regulator that leasing of spectrum is not permitted. Spectrum sharing will now be restricted to sharing by only 2 licencees in case there are at least 2 independent networks provided in the same band.
