The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is of the view that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) requires to re-examine its recommendations regarding the allocation of spectrum for enabling cordless communication for enterprise and residential users.
This comes after DoT the Ministry of Defence and a DoT committee expressed their concerns over the same. Prior to this, TRAI had suggested de-licensing 20 units of spectrum in the1880-1900 MHz band, which is currently being used by the defence forces. The regulator also suggested making this spectrum available for offering inter-building cordless communication services for non-commercial use. In its recommendations issued in October 2012, TRAI had also stated that permission from DoT or the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing (DoT) was required for allowing cordless communication services in private premises.
DoT has not accepted the recommendations made by TRAI and instead proposed that de-licensing should be restricted to 10 units instead of 20 units of spectrum, in line with global practices. Further, DoT has stated that no inter-building operations should be permitted and only indoor usage of cordless communication should be allowed.
DoT has also suggested that the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) could be asked to develop national standards to ensure usage of spectrum within 10 MHz for indoor applications. The standards would be put to field test trials, overseen by the Ministry of Defence. TEC studies could also be used for addressing issues related to deployment of base stations and compliance of radiation emission norms. According to DoT, TEC should be asked to complete all product development projects with indigenous telecom equipment providers by December 2013.
