Spectrum sharing & trading norms expected by year-end
Extending support to the flood ravaged people of J&K the Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has promised free telecom services for a week on BSNl network.
"People of flood affected J&K can now talk free for a week on BSNl's network in the flood affected areas. We have also requested private telecom operators. They have allowed 60 minutes of free talk time everyday," Prasad said while addressing a meet marking the completing of the first 100 days of in the ministry.
As per the Minister,out of the total 12,306 base transceiver stations (BTS) or mobile towers in J&K, 6,811towers were submerged and that the government has restored 1,208. Also 8,000 landline connections in the Kashmir valley have started functioning and the government has set up five free public calling booths (PCOs) at the airport. On the status of the telecom networks in the valley, Prasad said that except in Poonch, mobile services are either substantially or partially restored in all parts of the valley.
Even as private operators as Airtel and Vodafone had gone on a restoration of the network in the valley in a big way, BSNl said it had restored 92 mobile towers, which were affected by floods. Overall 473 towers are working in the Valley whereas 934 is the number for the whole state.
Prasad has also indicated that the guidelines for telecom spectrum trading and sharing would be ready and would be in place by the end of the year. "Guidelines will be in place by end of year on spectrum trading and sharing," Prasad said.
TRAI in July had recommended allowing sharing of all categories of radiowaves held by operators including those allocated at the old price of Rs 1,658 crore or assigned without auction, a move that could help companies significantly reduce cost of providing mobile services and also enable refarming of spectrum bands lying idle and unused with various operators.
TRAI had suggested that all access spectrum above the bands of 800 MHz will be sharable provided that both licensees are have spectrum in the same band.
Operators are allowed to share passive infrastructure like mobile towers, which has helped them in reducing operational cost but not active infrastructure like spectrum.