?
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has approached the government seeking clarity regarding the roll-out obligations to be followed by operators.
The regulator is seeking changes in the rollout obligation norms ahead of the next round of spectrum auctions on the grounds that the spectrum being sold allows operators to offer technology-agnostic services across spectrum bands. For example, so far the 900 MHz band was being used for offering GSM voice service but now, under the new licencing policy, a telecom operator can deploy even 4G technology on the same band. However, under the existing policy, operators are required to meet one set of targets within a circle irrespective of the amount of spectrum it holds or the type of technology it deploys.
According to TRAI, a different ecosystem is developing in these bands and, in future, it is likely that the telecom service providers may opt to deploy different technologies in the 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands. And this will have a direct bearing on rollout obligations, too. Therefore treating them as the same band is neither appropriate nor warranted.
TRAI has stated that if a telecom operator decides to change technology after a few years, it should be asked to achieve rollout targets afresh within two years of changing the technology being used to provide telecom services. In case TRAI?s suggestions are accepted, operators will have to meet the rollout obligations all over again unless they decide to continue offering 2G services in the two frequency bands.
