Telecom operators have demanded additional spectrum urgently on a temporary basis in order to cope with the unprecedented spurt in data usage as a result of “work from home” and “self-quarantine” at homes across the country due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
In a letter to the department of telecommunications (DoT), the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has demanded additional spectrum both for “access and backhaul microwave” for a short term and temporarily as they need to augment their capacity to meet the growing demand. COAI director general Rajan Matthew however says they are still waiting for a response from the government.
The telecom association has also asked DoT for expedited permission for tower enhancement from states (as thy ramp up capacity), extension in minimum roll out timelines by six months and permission for go for digital acquisition of new customers instead of physical documentation, especially as there has been a sharp rise in acquisition of new customers. This will reduce the time to on-board new subscribers.
According to BofA Global Research India’s fixed broadband penetration is only 6 per cent so the bulk of the pressure of the work for home traffic (which is around 70 per cent of the total traffic) is expected to be on the cellular network. India has only 19 million fixed broadband users compared to 630 million (3g and 4G) users. Analysts say that many operators like Airtel are not charging for installation or security for new customers of fixed broadband, while ACT has upgraded speed to 300 Mbps at no extra cost and even BSNL is offering free of charge broadband for one month for those who have a landline of their company already.
However, the demand from COAI is valid considering the fact that the Federal Communications Commission in the US has granted AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular temporary access to more spectrum so that they can increase their wireless capacity for around 60 days. The DoT which is planning to go for a mega spectrum auction has no shortage of airwaves in various bands from 700, 1800, apart from the available 5G spectrum which it could release in times of crises.
Mobile networks have been working at 60 per cent to 65 per cent capacity but thanks to coronavirus have seen their traffic go up by 10 per cent but that seems to be moving further up. While COAI says that it still has capacity available, a long lockdown of cities as well as offices could lead to more pressure on the network and might require more temporary capacity.
COAI has already received positive response from OTT platforms who consume about 30 per cent of their network capacity to use lesser bandwidth. Companies like Hotstar (with 300 million customers), Zee5, and Viacom 18 controlled Voot have already committed that they will use lesser capacity and if need arises shift customers from high definition to standard definition services to achieve that.
In a letter to the department of telecommunications (DoT), the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has demanded additional spectrum both for “access and backhaul microwave” for a short term and temporarily as they need to augment their capacity to meet the growing demand. COAI director general Rajan Matthew however says they are still waiting for a response from the government.
The telecom association has also asked DoT for expedited permission for tower enhancement from states (as thy ramp up capacity), extension in minimum roll out timelines by six months and permission for go for digital acquisition of new customers instead of physical documentation, especially as there has been a sharp rise in acquisition of new customers. This will reduce the time to on-board new subscribers.
According to BofA Global Research India’s fixed broadband penetration is only 6 per cent so the bulk of the pressure of the work for home traffic (which is around 70 per cent of the total traffic) is expected to be on the cellular network. India has only 19 million fixed broadband users compared to 630 million (3g and 4G) users. Analysts say that many operators like Airtel are not charging for installation or security for new customers of fixed broadband, while ACT has upgraded speed to 300 Mbps at no extra cost and even BSNL is offering free of charge broadband for one month for those who have a landline of their company already.
However, the demand from COAI is valid considering the fact that the Federal Communications Commission in the US has granted AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and US Cellular temporary access to more spectrum so that they can increase their wireless capacity for around 60 days. The DoT which is planning to go for a mega spectrum auction has no shortage of airwaves in various bands from 700, 1800, apart from the available 5G spectrum which it could release in times of crises.
Mobile networks have been working at 60 per cent to 65 per cent capacity but thanks to coronavirus have seen their traffic go up by 10 per cent but that seems to be moving further up. While COAI says that it still has capacity available, a long lockdown of cities as well as offices could lead to more pressure on the network and might require more temporary capacity.
COAI has already received positive response from OTT platforms who consume about 30 per cent of their network capacity to use lesser bandwidth. Companies like Hotstar (with 300 million customers), Zee5, and Viacom 18 controlled Voot have already committed that they will use lesser capacity and if need arises shift customers from high definition to standard definition services to achieve that.
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