Telecom authorities now firmly focussed on 4G services

The process of allocating 3G radio waves to private operators is yet to begin; but buoyed by the success of the spectrum auction, the government is already eyeing 4G spectrum sales. Steps to introduce these services would most likely be in place by next year, a Telecom Commission official said on Friday.

 The consultant papers with regard to 4G services have already been moved by the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India to the Department of Telecommunications, and their further processing would take about six to eight months, Chandra Prakash, member, technology of the Telecom Commission told reporters in Coimbatore.

 "The recommendations of TRAI and DoT would be discussed in detail and 4G can be expected in place by next year," Prakash said. He was here to review arrangements by the telecom sector for the World Classical Tamil Conference scheduled to start from 23 June.

Earlier, TRAI chairman J S Sarma said in New Delhi that the regulatory authority would soon be releasing a consultation paper on the roll out of 4G spectrum. ''We will ready with a consultation paper on 4G in a week and expect the regulations to be in place in the next few months,'' he said.

Addressing a meeting on 'The road to broadband - investment and innovation', organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Sarma said the consultation paper would address issues such as adoption of an optic fibre network, cost of bandwidth, tariffs and the relationship between telecom service providers and internet service providers.

Long term evolution (LTE) technology, or 4G, allows more data to be transferred over the same bandwidth used by 3G, and at higher speeds. Compared with a speed of 3 megabits per second (Mbps) offered by third-generation services, LTE can offer speeds up to 10Mbps.

Dual mobile service provider Tata Teleservices has told TRAI that 4G spectrum should be auctioned as soon as possible, since limited competition in the 3G space could make high-speed services expensive.

CDMA player Qualcomm has also sought large chunks of radio waves for advanced technologies like LTE.