Government Gives Green Signal to Spectrum Sharing in India

In a development that could drive optimal utilization of spectrum resources and consequentially increase the quality of service delivery for telecom operators, the government of India has given its approval to spectrum sharing guidelines recommended by TRAI - India's telecoms watchdog.

The salient features of the norms for spectrum sharing, among other things, shall include:-

a) Spectrum sharing would be allowed only for the access service providers in the first instance in a Licensed Service Area (LSA), where both the licensees are having spectrum in the same band. Leasing of spectrum will not be permitted. For the purpose of charging Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC), licensees shall be considered as sharing their entire spectrum holding in the particular band in the entire LSA.

b) All access spectrum including traded spectrum will be sharable provided that both licensees are having spectrum in the same band.

c) The right to share spectrum shall be subject to fulfilment of relevant license conditions and any other conditions that may be specified by the licensor/Government from time to time.

d) A licensee shall not be eligible to share its spectrum, if it has been established that it is in breach of terms and conditions of the licence, and the licensor has ordered for revocation/termination of its licence.

e) Sharing may be permitted in the following scenarios:

i. where both sharing entities possess spectrum for which market price has been paid with clarification in respect of spectrum in 800 MHz acquired in the auction held in March 2013, sharing of spectrum shall be permitted only if differential of latest auction price and March 2013 auction price on pro-rata basis on the balance period of right to use the spectrum is paid.

ii. where both sharing entities are having administratively allotted spectrum.

iii. where one sharing entity has spectrum acquired through auction or liberalized spectrum and the other has spectrum allotted administratively, sharing shall be permitted only after spectrum charges for liberalizing the administratively allocated spectrum are paid.

f) The use of technology shall be governed by the terms and conditions of respective Notice Inviting Application (NIA)/license.

g) Both licensees will be individually and collectively responsible for complying with sharing guidelines, including interference norms.

h) Spectrum sharing will be restricted to sharing by only two licensees subject to the condition that there will be at least two independent networks provided in the same band.

i) Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) rate of each of the licensees post-sharing shall increase by 0.5 percent of Aggregate Gross Revenue (AGR).

j) The prescribed limits for spectrum cap shall be applicable for both licensees individually. Further, spectrum holding of any licensee post-sharing shall be counted after adding 50 percent of the spectrum held by the other licensee in the band being shared, being added as additional spectrum to the original spectrum, held by the licensee in the band.