Noting the growing commercial needs and demand for additional spectrum (airwaves) by both telecom operators and broadcasters, the government will soon transform the wireless planning and coordination (WPC) wing of the telecom ministry into an independent agency.
As an independent body, WPC will have to work closely with the defence ministry to identify and segregate the commercial and non-commercial categories of airwaves. The move would immensely benefit players across radio broadcasting and telecom as they would always know about the spectrum allocated to them by the government. At present, there is no clear distinction between the commercial and non-commercial spectrum.
However, the proposed independent spectrum agency will not be able to interfere with the spectrum under the direct control of the ministry of defence (MoD). According to sources, the government has already asked the department of telecommunications (DoT), MoD, law and home ministries among others to work closely on the modalities to set up an independent spectrum management agency by strengthening WPC.
Spectrum refers to the frequency range between 3 kHz and 300 GHz that is used for wireless communication. Sources said the government was studying the structure of Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent agency in the US that regulates all non-government use of the spectrum, including all inter-state and international use of spectrum from the US soil (wire, satellite and cable).
As part of the proposed exercise, the government will transform WPC into a command and control body for allocation and management of airwaves in the commercial space. This means the airwaves used by the telecom, FM radio, television channels, DTH and Mobile TV sectors among others will be classified as ?commercial spectrum?. ?The future WPC will be responsible for its allocation, sub-classification, standards specification, consultation and equipment authorisation among others,? government sources said.
However, the remodelled WPC will not have any say in the usage of non-commercial spectrum. This will include the airwaves used by defence forces, police and security agencies. ?The government has already identified 41 types of services that come under the non-commercial spectrum,? a senior government official said. The proposal to mould WPC into an independent agency has already got the in-principle government approval as it is based on the international best practices, the official added.
The government is of the view that even as the demand for spectrum has increased manifold, the WPC in its present form is not adept at keeping pace with international standards due to inadequate budget, procedural delays and lack of automation. The proposed new body will hence conduct periodic spectrum audits and advise the government on spectrum management.