Spectrum allocation for telephony facing constraints, says Maran

Mumbai: The government is facing constraints in allocation of spectrum to telecom companies as it was also being used for space and defence purposes, IT and communication minister Dayanidhi Maran informed the Rajya Sabha during question hour.

"There are constrains in spectrum allocation because there are other users," he said answering to supplementaries.

"In India, availability of spectrum in frequency bands, needed for the mobile telecom services, is constrained due to other existing operations," he added.

While different countries follow different criteria for allotment of spectrum, he said, the subscriber-based criteria have been adopted for spectrum allotment in the country to ensure efficient and optimal utilisation of available spectrum.

"This method is considered to be the best suited at present for spectrum allotment in India," he said, adding, "Only active subscribers, who make and receive calls thereby generating traffic in the network, are taken into account for allotment of additional spectrum.

"The active subscribers in `visitor location register' (VLR) and peak traffic in network management system (NMS), averaged over a month, are considered to be an objective mechanism for verification," he said.

Maran also said the current installed capacities of wireless in local loop (WLL) equipment of around 39 lakh will be doubled by this fiscal end and the telephone service made more efficient.