Spectrum

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – To expedite 5G auction, DoT to meet MoD, ISRO, other officials

Concept –

Spectrum refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. The frequencies we use for wireless are only a portion of what is called the electromagnetic spectrum.
Devices such as cellphones, radio, wifi, etc. require signals to connect with one another. These signals are carried on airwaves. These airwaves must be sent at designated frequencies to avoid any kind of interference. Such airwaves are called the spectrum.
The various frequencies are subdivided into bands.
Frequency is the number of repetitions of the wave that one can see in a period.
If a wave repeats slowly, it is low frequency.
- If the wave repeats more, then it is called high frequency.
- Hertz(Hz) is the unit of Frequency.
Range of various devices:
- Radio – 100-200 Megahertz (Mhz)
- Telecom – 800 Mhz – 2300 Mhz
- Wifi – Earlier it was 2.4 Ghz and now enhanced to 5 Ghz.

What is a spectrum auction?

The Union government owns all the publicly available assets within the geographical boundaries of the country. This includes the airwaves also. So the government has the right to sell the airwaves.
The selling of airwaves as a band for a certain period is known as Spectrum Auctions. The central government through the DoT(Department of Telecom) auctions these airwaves from time to time.
The government performs spectrum auctions after dividing the entire country into telecom circles. Presently India is divided into 22 telecom circles.
All these spectrums are sold for a certain period of time, after which their validity lapses, which is generally set at 20 years.
With the expansion in the number of cellphones, wireline telephone and internet users, the need to provide more space for the signals arise from time to time.
Telecom companies are willing to set up the required infrastructure to use the waves once they auctioned the particular spectrum.

History of spectrum auctions

The first spectrum auction in India was conducted for a 900MHz band, in 1994.
After the 2001 auction, the government switched to an administrative allocation model. Under this, the government would select the companies best suited for developing India’s telecom infrastructure.
However, this didn’t yield a positive result, and the spectrum was licensed at far lower rates than what was raised by auction.
Post 2G spectrum case, the government again switched to the spectrum auction method.

Radio frequencies are often grouped in ranges called bands

International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

It is an agency of the United Nations (UN) whose purpose is to coordinate telecommunication operations and services throughout the world.
Originally founded in 1865, as the International Telegraph Union, the ITU is the oldest existing international organization.
Headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ITU consists of three sectors:
- Radiocommunication (ITU-R) — ensures optimal, fair and rational use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.
- Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T) — formulates recommendations for standardizing telecommunication operations worldwide.
- Telecommunication Development (ITU-D) — assists countries in developing and maintaining internal communication operations.

Membership:

There are 193 Member States of the ITU, including all UN member states except the Republic of Palau, plus the Vatican City.
Membership of ITU is open to only UN members, which may join the Union as Member States, as well as to private organizations like carriers, equipment manufacturers, funding bodies, research and development organizations and international and regional telecommunication organizations, which may join ITU as non-voting Sector Members.

India and the ITU:

India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869 and has been a regular member of the ITU Council since 1952. In November 2018, India was elected as a Member of the ITU Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022).

To know about 5G please refer August 2021 DPN and November 2021 DPN.