DoT panel divided on E&V band spectrum allocation

It seems that a decision over allocation of spectrum in E and V band carriers is turning out to be a Herculean task for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). An internal committee, formed to examine the issue, has given a divided opinion with one member supporting auction as the desired route while two others favouring that spectrum should be given administratively for a fixed charge as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The regulator had given its recommendations in November 2015 and even after more than three years, no decision has been finalised. The Trai had recommended that both E (71-76 gigahertz frequency and 81-86 Ghz) and V (57-64 Ghz frequency range) bands should be opened up in the country for acceleration of broadband penetration and DoT should accelerate the process of opening these bands in line with other technologically developed countries of the world. It must be mentioned that V band has been delicensed in countries like USA, UK, Canada, China, Australia, Japan etc.