Airwaves in 700 MHz band to be sold in 2012

The government could be in for a windfall from the sale of additional spectrum that will be vacated by state agencies, after raising record amounts from 3G and broadband airwaves auction last year that helped it contain fiscal deficit within the budgeted limit. The telecom department has initiated the process of auctioning airwaves in the 700 MHz band, which, it says is the ‘most efficient and cost-effective’ frequency for delivering wireless broadband. In an internal note, the department says the rollout of services using this band will cost only a third of the expected rollout for companies such as Reliance Industries that won wireless broadband airwaves in the 2.3 GHz band. The ministry has set a target for Doordarshan and other government agencies to vacate these frequencies by the year-end so that the auctions can be held in 2012. The government has in the past failed to enforce deadlines for freeing up airwaves as well as for auctions but spectrum-starved telecom service providers keenly await auctions for the 700 MHz band as it will enable them to offer enhanced data services. In 2008, the US government raised close to $20 billion by auctioning three blocks of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. Two years prior to this, the US House of Representatives approved a new policy that mandated analog television broadcasters to clear the 700 MHz airwaves and switch their operations to the digital mode. The improved spectral efficiency of digital broadcast freed up large chunks of airwaves in 700 MHz band. In the case of 3G spectrum, the defence forces vacated it for the auctions only after the telecom department agreed to build an alternate fibre optic network for them. In this case too, Doordarshan may ask DoT to foot part of the cost to digitise its operations.