India Designates WiMax Frequencies

BANGALORE, India — India's Department of Telecom (DoT) has short-listed four frequency bands to allocate spectrum for WiMax services. The frequencies include 2.5 to 2.69 GHz, 3.4 to 3.6 GHz, 2.3 to 2.4 GHz and 700 MHz.

According to a report in The Economic Times from New Delhi Monday (Sept. 18), the DoT has requested the Department of Space (DoS) to release 95 MHz in the 2.5 to 2.69 GHz band, for 3G and WiMax. In the 3.4 to 3.6 GHz band, the DoT is seeking to release 150 MHz for WiMax.

In the 700 MHz band, the DoT is seeking to designate 40 MHz for rural WiMax applications, the report said.

Still, the DoT may not find it easy to get the short-listed frequencies in all the bands, as the DoS has allocating WiMax spectrum in some bands. "For instance, in the 2.69 GHz, the DoS has said that this band is currently being used for various satellite-based mobile and broadcast applications, including disaster warning dissemination, radio and networking," the report said.