Kapil Sibal, Minister of Telecommunications and IT, has unveiled the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) 2011.
Under the Plan, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has identified at least five new frequency bands, including the 700 Mhz band, for telecom services.
Small chunks of spectrum for developing indigenous technologies have also been reserved.
The Plan, which provides a broad direction for future spectrum allocation, will come into effect from October 1, 2011.
The Plan also earmarks the entire 700 Mhz spectrum band for mobile broadband services. Also, the use of the S-band has been opened up for broadband services. This band, falling between 2.5 Ghz and 2.6 Ghz, is being currently used by INSAT systems for satellite based services including meteorological data dissemination.
If implemented, operators could access about 200 Mhz of additional spectrum. However, the NFAP is only a broad guideline outlining the future roadmap for spectrum usage in line with international standards. The actual implementation of this Plan depends upon inter-ministerial negotiations.
