High-speed broadband services: Telcos and technology majors spar over spectrum band

Telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, have once again clashed with technology players like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook etc, over a spectrum band which has the potential to provide high-speed broadband services, especially in remote areas and for better in-building coverage.

Though the fight is a couple of years old, it resurfaced earlier this month when the department of telecommunications scheduled meetings with operators and industry associations to plan issues related to spectrum management and allocation over the next few years.