&w=3840&q=100)
Trai issues consultation paper on microwave spectrum across bands
In a first, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday released a consultation paper seeking to assess the demand for, and the scope of service for microwave spectrum across eight spectrum bands.
Aiming to create guidelines for microwave spectrum in the 6 GHz, 7 GHz, 13 GHz, 15 GHz, 18 GHz and 21 GHz bands, along with V-band and E-band, the paper seeks industry views on how to assign spectrum in various microwave bands for commercial backhaul, along with the terms and conditions, including pricing, spectrum caps, and carrier aggregation.
Called the 'lifeblood of today's cellular mobile networks', microwave spectrum is used for providing both last mile 'access' to consumer devices, as well as backhaul links in places where laying the optical fiber cables is difficult or economically unviable.
The microwave spectrum ranging from 400 MHz to 4 GHz was used for providing cellular mobile radio access, while the one ranging from 6 GHz to 24 GHz was used for providing backhaul. However, the recent introduction of 5G technology has led to the need for wider frequency channels and now frequencies above 24 GHz are also used for both cellular mobile radio access and backhaul.
DoT also wants TRAI to examine whether the 7 GHz and 15 GHz bands, currently used for backhaul, should be re-evaluated for mobile telephony now or after the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) takes a call on them in 2027.Also, it has asked which commercial telecom services should the spectrum in traditional microwave backhaul bands be assigned for radio backhaul purposes.
Trai has also been asked to examine how spectrum in non-mobile telephony bands could be used for last-mile connectivity through fixed wireless access, and for captive backhaul services. The feasibility of permitting low-power indoor device-to-device communication in the V-band on a licence-exempt basis is also under review. Stakeholders will have to submit their inputs by June 25, with counter-comments accepted until July 9.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
DoT says no to more delicensing of 6 GHz; may raise output power for outdoor WiFi
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is not looking at delicensing more spectrum in the 6 GHz band that the tech industry has been demanding, as it believes enough airwaves have already been made available to take care of WiFi DoT is open to a marginal increase in the transmit power requirements for outdoor WiFi devices , which can be done by using 6 Ghz airwaves, partially accepting the industry's request, government officials aware of the matter told ET. But this too will be allowed only if such a change does not lead to interference with existing applications or satellite operations, particularly defence-related functions, they said, asking not to be named."We have received comments from stakeholders regarding the delicensing of the lower 6 GHz band. We will notify the rules soon but more spectrum in the band won't be delicensed," said an minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently announced that the government would come out with rules for the 6 GHz band before August in May had delicensed 500 MHz spectrum in the 6 GHz band for WiFi and low-power wireless equipment requirements. Officials in the department feel that the intent for delicensing or allocating spectrum without auction in the band was to develop new applications, particularly those that work in low- and very-low-power systems. Already around 700 MHz spectrum is available for WiFi use in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. As per experts, the additional 6 GHz spectrum can be used alongside the existing WiFi airwaves to get better speeds and Broadband India Forum (BIF), which counts Amazon, Google, Meta, Qualcomm and Netflix among its members, had sought an additional delicensing of 160 MHz in the band to take the total quantum to 660 MHz, so that the complete benefits of the 6 GHz spectrum could be utilised."This would ensure that at least two users could get 320 MHz wide channels simultaneously for high-speed applications and data usage and would also ensure that any combination of channel bandwidths of 320, 160 and 80 MHz could be used for deployment of advanced Wi-Fi technologies viz. Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7," the BIF had said in a memorandum to the government, however, feels it won't be possible to delicense more than 500 MHz in the band as the rest could be utilised for mobility services, particularly 5G and 6G the entire telecom industry was unanimously seeking the full 1200 MHz spectrum in the 6 GHz band for mobile use, but after the government delicensed 500 MHz, telecom market leader Reliance Jio changed its stance and supported the government's move. It also sought to increase the power for outdoor WiFi devices, aligning with the tech industry.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Trai's new proposal may help check spam as it complements data protection laws
Agencies The country's new data protection law and its mandate on consent management may well be the much-needed impetus for enterprises to take anti-spam regulations seriously henceforth Mumbai: The telecom regulator's latest move to refresh its consent handling mechanism for checking spam messages and calls may have some overlaps with the country's new data protection law but isn't in conflict with it, officials welcomed the move, saying harmonising the two sets of regulations is crucial to check spam as it will make it easier for stakeholders to implement the week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) opened a pilot for banks and telecom companies to test a solution for gathering and managing user approved solution after testing will allow telcos to verify consumer consent in real time before connecting or delivering commercial calls and messages. The move comes as the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCPR), first introduced in 2018, has failed to deliver results in preventing spam – largely due to lack of coordination among telcos, price-wars, and non-seriousness among enterprises, according to experts. The country's new data protection law and its mandate on consent management may well be the much-needed impetus for enterprises to take anti-spam regulations seriously henceforth, they said.'We have tried to devise a framework to validate the current operational, technical and regulatory aspects of consent registration, and lay the foundation for sector-wise scaling,' a senior Trai official told ET on condition of anonymity.'Yes, there are overlaps between the two legislations. But those aren't conflicts,' he said. 'For instance, TRAI aims to curtail the practice of collecting mobile numbers through unauthorised data-sharing practice, which ultimately leads to marketing spam. This is also a basic principle of the data protection law.'He called on telcos to develop a solution which is both consumer- and Misra, partner at law firm Spice Route Legal, said without harmonisation, businesses will struggle with implementing two distinct consent regimes under these laws.'Multiple frameworks increase the risk of consumer drop-off and consent fatigue among users. Combining these frameworks would lend legal clarity, operational efficiency, and better outcomes,' she Route Legal specialises in data said the original TCCCPR, which hinged on a robust consent mechanism that allows phone users to control what messages they wish to receive, failed because of a gap in enforcement and industry adoption.'Most businesses lacked robust consent management frameworks or the technological capability to operationalise consent at scale. This has resulted in fragmented processes that are difficult to implement,' she said.'If the new pilot can simplify integration, ensure interoperability, and provide a standardised infrastructure that businesses can easily plug into…it may just overcome the friction,' she businesses will face initial costs while adapting and upgrading their systems, Misra said. The Cellular Operators Authority of India (COAI), which represents all three private telcos, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, agreed that there have been challenges in adoption of existing consent framework and the latest directive empowers the consumers with a uniform consent revocation process. 'However, the adoption may differ from sector to sector, as each sector has its own unique way of functioning,' said SP Kochhar, director general of COAI. 'This initiative will serve as a test bed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the system, and it is expected to yield positive results.'Telecom companies also noted that the consent framework currently applies to only SMS and voice communications but will be incomplete until OTT platforms are brought under regulatory purview. 'This regulatory gap is increasingly exploited, with a growing share of scams and unsolicited promotions now originating on OTT apps,' Kochhar said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Trai's new proposal may help check spam as it complements data protection laws
Mumbai: The telecom regulator's latest move to refresh its consent handling mechanism for checking spam messages and calls may have some overlaps with the country's new data protection law but isn't in conflict with it, officials said. Experts welcomed the move, saying harmonising the two sets of regulations is crucial to check spam as it will make it easier for stakeholders to implement the rules. Last week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) opened a pilot for banks and telecom companies to test a solution for gathering and managing user consent. The approved solution after testing will allow telcos to verify consumer consent in real time before connecting or delivering commercial calls and messages. The move comes as the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations ( TCCPR ), first introduced in 2018, has failed to deliver results in preventing spam – largely due to lack of coordination among telcos, price-wars, and non-seriousness among enterprises, according to experts. The country's new data protection law and its mandate on consent management may well be the much-needed impetus for enterprises to take anti-spam regulations seriously henceforth, they said. 'We have tried to devise a framework to validate the current operational, technical and regulatory aspects of consent registration, and lay the foundation for sector-wise scaling,' a senior Trai official told ET on condition of anonymity. 'Yes, there are overlaps between the two legislations. But those aren't conflicts,' he said. 'For instance, TRAI aims to curtail the practice of collecting mobile numbers through unauthorised data-sharing practice, which ultimately leads to marketing spam. This is also a basic principle of the data protection law.' He called on telcos to develop a solution which is both consumer- and business-friendly. Aadya Misra, partner at law firm Spice Route Legal, said without harmonisation, businesses will struggle with implementing two distinct consent regimes under these laws. 'Multiple frameworks increase the risk of consumer drop-off and consent fatigue among users. Combining these frameworks would lend legal clarity, operational efficiency, and better outcomes,' she said. Spice Route Legal specialises in data advisory. Misra said the original TCCCPR, which hinged on a robust consent mechanism that allows phone users to control what messages they wish to receive, failed because of a gap in enforcement and industry adoption. 'Most businesses lacked robust consent management frameworks or the technological capability to operationalise consent at scale. This has resulted in fragmented processes that are difficult to implement,' she said. 'If the new pilot can simplify integration, ensure interoperability, and provide a standardised infrastructure that businesses can easily plug into…it may just overcome the friction,' she added. However, businesses will face initial costs while adapting and upgrading their systems, Misra said. The Cellular Operators Authority of India (COAI), which represents all three private telcos, Reliance Jio , Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea , agreed that there have been challenges in adoption of existing consent framework and the latest directive empowers the consumers with a uniform consent revocation process. 'However, the adoption may differ from sector to sector, as each sector has its own unique way of functioning,' said SP Kochhar, director general of COAI. 'This initiative will serve as a test bed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the system, and it is expected to yield positive results.' Telecom companies also noted that the consent framework currently applies to only SMS and voice communications but will be incomplete until OTT platforms are brought under regulatory purview. 'This regulatory gap is increasingly exploited, with a growing share of scams and unsolicited promotions now originating on OTT apps,' Kochhar said.
