TRAI releases four consultation papers on spectrum, mobile porting, in-building connectivity

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday released four consultation papers, on a rating framework for digital connectivity in buildings on spectrum policy, and mobile number portability. TRAI has previously deliberated on this issue, but the Department of Telecommunications requested fresh inputs due to recent technological developments in the World Radiocommunication Conferences and other global consortiums where spectrum guidelines have evolved for high frequency bands. In the next paper, TRAI asked whether higher frequency bands could be delicensed, again meaning they could be used without buying the airwaves in an auction. A higher frequency in the spectrum indicates lower propagation of signals — WiFi currently uses bands at the 2.4–5GHz range in India, and higher frequencies have far less range.