Telecom department and regulator clash over over key spectrum to Indian Railways

Mint

3 days ago

The department of telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) are sparring over the allocation of a portion of the key 700 MHz spectrum to the Indian Railways. The spectrum band is crucial for Indian Railways to deploy safety and security applications as a part of its indigenous radio-based train collision avoidance system (TCAS) or Kavach.
In a letter dated 16 June, the telecom department told Trai that the assignment of an additional 5 MHz spectrum would be considered only once the 5 MHz spectrum already assigned in the 700 MHz frequency band was used.
The back reference from DoT came on Trai's recommendations to assign additional spectrum to Indian Railways for its safety and security applications. Trai had sent the recommendations on 20 December 2024.
In response to DoT's back reference on 4 July, the regulator expressed concern over the department's view on the spectrum allocation. 'It is imperative that an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band is assigned to the Indian Railways forthwith so that they can plan, design and implement an optimised communication network for meeting the bandwidth requirements of their safety and security applications in a timely manner,' Trai told the DoT.
Another issue between DoT and Trai is on how much Indian Railways will be charged for the spectrum. The department wants the assignment of spectrum to bebased on the auction determined price (ADP) instead of a formula prescribed by DoT, which would be less expensive as per the regulator. ADP is the market price set during 5G auctions. The price of per megahertz (MHz) of spectrum in the 700 MHz band was set at ₹ 3,927 crore for commercial use.
'In order to harmonise all such administrative assignment of spectrum in the IMT (international mobile telecommunication) bands, the department is of the view that it may be appropriate to adopt the spectrum charging methodology of upfront payment of the ADP mechanism for all administrative assignment of spectrum in the IMT bands, henceforth on prospective basis,' DoT told Trai. It added that so far, Indian Railways has also not paid any spectrum charges for the already assigned 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz band.
DoT said this charging mechanism would allow for efficient use of spectrum, avoid hoarding/blocking of spectrum, and avoid accounting problems from the assignment of spectrum in phases. 'This upfront payment of ADP mechanism will also be applicable to the already assigned 5 MHZ of paired spectrum to the Indian Railways with prospective effect,' DoT said.
Trai, however, said, 'Considering the critical role played by Indian Railways and NCRTC (National Capital Region Transport Corporation) in serving public and national interests, it would not be appropriate to levy spectrum charges for these entities based on ADP that reflects the value placed on the spectrum by entities intending to use it for commercial use.'
'The economic value of spectrum for entities such as Indian Railways and NCRTC is fundamentally different from that of commercial service providers, as it does not include revenue-generating activities like commercial use of internet, voice, or data services,' Trai added.
Trai noted that spectrum charges for respective spectrum bands assigned administratively to various ministries/departments engaged in national safety and security, such as defence and space, are determined using the formula prescribed by DoT.
'The spectrum charges for these ministries/departments are not determined based on ADP. Further, since both NCRTC and Indian Railways require spectrum for the purpose of enhancing safety and security, there is no justification for levying spectrum charges based on ADP,' Trai told DoT.
With a 45 MHz total size, the 700 Mhz band has already been allocated for the use of different government ministries/departments/agencies, which includes 10 MHz for the defence ministry, 5 MHz for Indian Railways, 5 MHz for National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), and 10 MHz for BSNL. In the 2022 spectrum auctions, Jio acquired 10 MHz of the 700 MHz spectrum worth ₹ 40,000 crore. The remaining 5 MHz band has been sought by the Indian Railways.
The 700 MHz band is considered a premium band for 5G services as it has the potential to offer wider coverage and in-building penetration.