Trai asks govt to expedite spectrum release

Aiming to increase the growth of broadband in the country, telecom regulator Trai today asked the government to expedite the process of availability of spectrum for third generation (3G) and Wimax services.

In its recommendations on 'Growth of Broadband' today, the regulator said the government should expedite the decision on Trai's recommendations regarding mechanism and pricing of spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless access.

Municipal committees should also be encouraged to include a clause for making multiple dwelling units/buildings broadband ready by adopting suitable internal wiring while giving clearance for the construction of all such buildings in future, it said.

The government had announced a Broadband Policy in 2004 and fixed a target of 9 million broadband subscribers by the end of 2007 and 20 million by 2010.

However, the growth of broadband in the country has been contrained by government red-tapism. India had only 2.67 million broadband users by the end of September 2007.

With an objective to identify various impediments affecting the growth of broadband and to adopt forward looking approach to address all such problems, Trai had issued its draft recommendations on 'Growth of Broadband' in September 2007 and sought the comments of stakeholders.

In its final recommendations, Trai also said that BSNL and MTNL should be encouraged to appoint franchisees for providing broadband services to supplement their efforts and any procedural restrictions/limitations should be addressed immediately.