Telecom secy puts on hold 5G trial spectrum allotment to Saankhya Labs, IISc Bengaluru

Telecom secretary Anshu Prakash has put on hold the recent allocation of 5G trial spectrum to homegrown semiconductor chipset maker Saankhya Labs and IISC Bangaluru. The development has brought to the fore divergent views of two key wings of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the experimental 5G airwaves allocation process. Government and industry insiders said the allocations have been held in abeyance as Saankhya and IISc apparently did not follow the mandated process of seeking such experimental 5G spectrum.

Instead of directly applying online to the mandated Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing, they chose to involve DoT;s Standards, R&D & Innovation (SRI) division in the applications process, a person with direct knowledge said. Instead of directly applying online to the mandated Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing, they chose to involve DoT’s Standards, R&D & Innovation (SRI) division in the applications process, a person with direct knowledge said.

To this, the WPC wing is learnt to have raised objections, prompting the telecom secretary to intervene. Minutes of an internal April 29 meeting of DoT’s SRI division show that specific directions were given to WPC’s Regional Licensing Office (RLO) in Chennai, “to issue experimental 5G spectrum licences to Saankhya Labs and IISc without any further delay by April 30” itself.

The RLO-Chennai was also ordered to grant such trial 5G spectrum to both applicants for six months, extendable upto 1 year. Seen a copy of the minutes of the meeting that was attended by senior officials of Saankhya Labs and IISC. Subsequently, Saankhya was granted in-principle experimental 5G airwaves in the premium 700/600 Mhz bands in Bengaluru to run trials for convergence of broadband and broadband networks, while IISc was offered trial airwaves (in the 3.5 Ghz/2300-2400 Mhz bands) for testing in its campus lab.

But government insiders said the hasty manner in which such trial 5G spectrum was issued to Saankhya and IISc did not go down well with top officials in the DoT’s WPC wing, and the matter was put on hold after a review by telecom secretary Prakash and Wireless Advisor G K Agrawal. “As directed by Secretary (Telecom), when Joint Wireless Advisor along with myself were also present, the matter (pertaining to decision on experimental licences) is to be kept in abeyance till further orders, and JWA, RLO-Chennai be informed for necessary action,” Agrawal said in an internal communication, dated May 5. An IISC spokesperson, asserted that the institute had “applied for 4G and 5G spectrum licenses for WPC,” and that “all application materials were sent to the RLO,” following procedures outlined by the WPC wing.

It added the DoT’s SRI division was “consulted during the application process for clarifications regarding the procedures”. The IISc spokesman, though, claimed that the institute’s application is under review. “We have obtained a provisional license which was approved and signed by the Deputy Wireless Advisor, WPC … we are awaiting the grant of the final license, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks. According to the meeting minutes of Dot’s SRI wing, Saankhya needs trial 5 spectrum as it has “IPRs and its products have global appeal and also recognized by US Federal Communications Commission”. Saankhya has reportedly received a certification from FCC for its broadcast radio head, which enables convergence of broadcast and mobile network and helps digital terrestrial broadcasters  boost their reach and market share. RollingNotes News