The News Broadcasters and Digital Association (DBDA) is concerned about the allocation of C-band spectrum for 5G services. The association believes that if the C-band spectrum is allocated to the telcos for 5G services, then it would be very little left for broadcasting services. To air its concern, DBDA has written to the Union I&B secretary, said a TNN report. In the letter, the association has asked the I&B secretary to intervene with the decision of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to allocate C-band spectrum for 5G.
The association has said that the decision of DoT is going to benefit only a certain section of the telecom sector and result in monopolistic operations. Such a move would have adverse impacts on the freedom of speech and media in the country, said the report. In the letter, the DBDA mentioned that the decision to avail the C-band spectrum for 5G services to the telcos is a big threat to the broadcasters in the country. DBDA doesn't want the telcos to get any further C-band spectrum as it would create problems for satellite broadcasters, who are also very much dependent on the C-band spectrum for uplinking and downlinking.
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C-band spectrum is extremely crucial for the telcos to offer decent 5G services. It allows proper coverage as well as great download speeds. The telecom bodies, including COAI and GSMA, are also pushing for the govt to include the 6 GHz spectrum for 5G's future in India. There's not enough C-band spectrum available for the telcos to provide meaningful 5G network coverage in the coming years.
The government's decision on the matter is awaited. DBDA is worried that if C-band spectrum is offered to the telcos for 5G, very little of it would be available for broadcasting services.
