India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided against allocating the 470-582 MHz spectrum band for the commercial deployment of TV White Space (TVWS) technology.
The decision will be a major setback to software major Microsoft. But DoT is not against the allocation of the 470-582 MHz spectrum band through an auction at a later stage. At that point in time, several technologies may be ready for use on the the 470-582 MHz spectrum.
The DoT view will benefit existing telecom operators such as BSNL, Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Telenor, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. All these telecom operators have some presence in the Indian broadband space.
The DoT has taken a view that the 470-582 MHz spectrum will not be de-licensed and the India Government will decide on pricing in the future, HinduBusinessLine reported.
The spectrum band has been assigned to various educational and research-based organizations with the sole purpose of carrying out of experiments in the TVWS technology.
“It is clarified that the frequency is not for regular/commercial use of TVWS in India. It may be noted that the frequency allocation for TVWS experiment has not been made with any reference to any particular technology,” said a letter from DoT to the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).
Microsoft was planning to deploy TVWS technology to enable low-cost broadband internet in India – especially in rural areas. White space, which refers to unutilized spectrum allocated for broadcasting services, can be used with low-power devices, without causing interference to the broadcasting station.
Microsoft is doing a number of pilots, including in Harisal village in Maharashtra, Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). Unlike in the US, in India, this spectrum band is unutilized and no broadcaster is using it for TV services.
Microsoft had requested the India government to allow access to the spectrum to offer low-cost broadband services in India.
DoT does not want to de-license the 470- 698 MHz band and aims to auction in future when the ecosystem is developed for this band.
Earlier, the COAI urged the DoT to inform mobile operators in advance of any government decision to de-license television broadcast airwaves in the 470-698 MHz band before releasing the auction rules for sale of 4G airwaves in the 700 MHz band. COAI objected to de-licensing the 470-698 MHz band arguing that it would trigger market distortions and cause considerable losses to the India government.
