The department of telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday notified the spectrum sharing rules that were approved by the Cabinet on August 12 and will allow sharing of all spectrum available at present, and new bands which will be allocated in future.
The guidelines issued by the government allow telecom companies to share even traded spectrum, where telecom companies can sell the right to use spectrum to other company and later share the same spectrum.
“All access spectrum, including traded spectrum, shall be sharable provided both licensees are having spectrum in the same band,” the guidelines issued by DoT said.
The guidelines will not only help in effective use of airwaves, but will also reduce call drops and cost of operations of telcos besides improving quality of calls.
The spectrum sharing is allowed only among two telecom operators in the same frequency band within the same telecom circle.
The guidelines have clarified that in the case of telecom companies operators holding administratively allocated spectrum want to share their spectrum, then they will need to pay one-time spectrum charge demanded by DoT.
“If the said amount is not paid due to judicial intervention at judicial forums barring any coercive action, in the interim, sharing of spectrum in such cases will also be permitted subject to submission of a bank guarantee for an amount equal to the demand raised… pending final outcome of the court case,” the guidelines said.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/dot-notifies-spectrum-sharing-guidelines/144725/