Question : Shortage of Spectrum

(a) whether the Government has received any representation from telecom service providers regarding insufficient spectrum being the reason for poor telecom services in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) the reaction of the Government thereon; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to allocate more spectrum to telecom companies?

Answer given by the minister

THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had sent a communication in October, 2015 mentioning the need to make more spectrum available in various bands to meet the increasing data requirement and quality of service expectations of subscribers.

(c) & (d) The Department has conducted spectrum auction in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands in October 2016. A total of 2354.75 MHz of spectrum in these bands was put to auction, out of which, 964.8 MHz of spectrum was sold in 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands. Further, the Government has also permitted various cases for spectrum sharing and spectrum trading among telecom service providers as per the guidelines issued by the Government in this regard.




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