The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B ministry) may launch its review of the federal government’s plan to probably reserve the essential C-band of radio frequencies for 5G and 6G telecommunication (telecom) use, mentioned officers.
Photograph: Ddo Ruvic/Reuters
While the incumbent broadcasting operators have warned that the plan will depart “treasured little spectrum” for broadcasting companies, telecom service suppliers (TSPs) have pressed onerous for having access to the C-band.
In a number of letters to the I&B ministry over the previous month, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has mentioned the trade could be left with treasured little spectrum for broadcasting companies if the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) additional allocates the scant C-band for 5G.
While deciding on the utilization of radio frequencies is the only real purview of DoT, the NBDA has requested the I&B ministry to intervene.
As a consequence, the I&B ministry is within the course of of endeavor an independent review on the matter, mentioned a number of folks within the know.
“Administrative selections on the allocation of spectrum, its use, and the sharing of spectrum by a number of sectors is often mentioned at interministerial fora however the unyielding stance of the trade on all sides has led to this,” mentioned an official.
This would be the first time such a review is undertaken by the I&B ministry independently, he added.
The ministry had earlier flagged the problem of 5G spectrum disrupting broadcast companies.
DoT is presently within the course of of deciding which sector to order the C-band spectrum for.
A panel shaped beneath the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of DoT is contemplating the problem.
Currently, Indian TSPs are utilizing the n78 (3300-3800 megahertz, or MHz) half of the band for 5G companies.
But sources mentioned DoT is contemplating vacating the spectrum from broadcasters or satellite tv for pc customers within the 3670-4000 MHz half of the band as effectively.
Whose band is it?
One portion of the C-band — from 3.7 gigahertz (GHz) to 4.2 GHz — has been utilised by broadcasters and multi-system operators for offering cable and satellite tv for pc companies for over 20 years.
Further 5G exercise within the C-band will influence hundreds of cable tv headends throughout the nation, the broadcasting trade has mentioned.
Another half, particularly from 3.3 GHz to three.6 GHz, is globally wanted by the telecom trade.
This ‘mid-band’ spectrum is extraordinarily vital for brand new 5G know-how as a result of capability and protection it affords and the ecosystem developed round it.
According to the worldwide apex physique for cellular operators GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association), the spectrum band represents “a balancing level between protection and capability that gives the right atmosphere for the earliest 5G connectivity”.
Between these two components of the band is the separation or ‘guard band’ of 100 MHz to preclude the chance of any interference.
The C-band hit headlines in December final 12 months after DoT had requested Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio to not set up 5G base stations inside a 2.1-kilometre vary of Indian airports, citing potential interference for the radio (radar) altimeters used on plane.
During take-off/landing and to assist keep away from crashing into mountains, pilots rely completely on the important thing instrument.