Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi), the three largest private telecom operators in India, have had a very difficult journey due to the uneasy policy environment in the telecom sector. However, that all changes now. The telcos get a lot of help from the government and the policy is evolving to help the sector. Spectrum sharing is a subject that has not been given too much attention. But it is an important aspect of the business as telcos spend thousands of crores on acquiring this ether. The telecom companies have always wanted better conditions and possibilities for sharing unused ether with their competitors.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will soon publish a new consultation paper on dynamic spectrum sharing, ET reports. This would be to allow the telcos to monetize airwaves obtained through the auction and remove scenarios from the idle spectrum.
Sharing dynamic spectrum is a kind of leasing
So there is a difference between dynamic spectrum sharing and spectrum trading. With dynamic spectrum sharing, the companies lease the airwaves to the others in real time, enabling rights within the circle.
At the moment, the telcos can only share ether waves that both operators have and are already using in the circle. This is not leasing. TRAI is reportedly looking to change that and is seeking recommendations from the industry and its stakeholders. This would allow operators such as Vodafone Idea (Vi) to increase their revenues by renting out ether to their competitors.
The new framework would boost revenues for the telecom industry. It could also result in fewer spectrum handover scenarios, which the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has now allowed. DSS would actually be a brand new revenue stream, and the telcos will certainly be happy to hear about it. Since spectrum is a finite and scarce resource, it is the duty of regulators and government to ensure it is not wasted.
