Recently IndianTelecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad met Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar to discuss 3G defence spectrum band issue.
Indian Telecom operators have been demanding from the government the auction of
20 Megahertz of 3G (2100 Mhz band) spectrum but the government had only
assured auction of 5 Mhz of spectrum. All the 3G spectrum, which is proposed to be put up for auction, needed to be freed by the Defence Ministry.
Defence Ministry has agreed to free 5 Mhz of 3G spectrum initially and 15 Mhz when the government notified a dedicated spectrum for defence forces as 'Defence Band and Defence Interest Zone'.
The Defence will now vacate 15 MHz spectrum in the 3G band in exchange for the same amount of spectrum in another frequency band. In return, the Defence forces will be given an exclusive spectrum band.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the eight-year dispute has been resolved between the two ministries. Prasad said that he expected the dedicated spectrum band for the defence sector could be notified in February. However, it will take at least a year for the transition to take place as it is a complex exercise.
The Department of Telecom has announced dates for next round of spectrum auction for 800 Mhz (CDMA), 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands but is yet to share details of 3G spectrum.
Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission is learnt to have suggested a base price of Rs 3,705 crore per megahertz as 3G spectrum base price for upcoming auction, about 11 per cent higher than what companies paid for the same during the 2010 sale. It is also 36 per cent higher than regulator TRAI's recommendation of Rs 2,720 crore per Mhz.
The government expects to raise at least Rs 64,840 crore from the auction, excluding 3G.
During the event, the Minister invited suggestions from industry to improve connectivity in the country.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is said to have ratified the deal which would make available more spectrum for telecom companies. But the vacated airwaves will not be put up for auction in February.
The band between 1700 MHz and 2000 MHz is required to be harmonised and the Cabinet has approved that this harmony must be done within a period of one year.
During this period, the Department of Telecom would set up a defence band exclusive for use by the armed forces. The DoT will create a defence band along 50 km of the international border, which will be known as Defence interest zone.
The Centre feels the arrangement is beneficial for telecom operators as they will get access to another 15 MHz of 3G spectrum. However, the industry had wanted this spectrum to be auctioned along with other frequency bands in February. The Cabinet had earlier decided that only 5 MHz of 3G spectrum will be sold now.
