India has National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) 2020. In its amendment, it notes that the band 57-64 may be used for high density point-to-point/multipoint links and other access applications. The band between 57-71 GHz is called V-band which is suitable for short-range transmission. Some countries allow V-band by telcos and ISPs. Some restrict its usage to lower band 57-64 GHz. The bandwidth of 7GHz provides large capacities.
Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) has adopted IEEE .802.11 protocols, especially .ad and .ay in 60 GHz band in unlicensed mode. Facebook and Google have been working on technologies using WiGig standards to provide high-speed public networks. Many countries have unlicensed the V-band, e.g. Austria, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, China, Korea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. The US has released spectrum in 57-71 GHz for license-exempt use.
India feels this spectrum band of 57-64 could be released with’ light-touch’ regulation, or could be delicensed. It is suitable for access as well as backhaul. SC has ordered auctions, rather than free access. The Government will have to reconcile this by suitably amending the policy.
To get the benefit of the short-range devices (SRDs), we need the 60 GHz band which has the width of 7 GHz bandwidth. It offers unmatched capacity compared with lower frequency spectrum, thus setting it apart from other high frequency bands.
An SRD is a radio freqhency transmitter device used in telecom to transmit information (without the harmful interference to other radio equipment). Short-range wireless technologies include WiFi, Bluetooth, Near-Field-Communication (NFC) ultra wide-band (UWB), wideband, medical diagnostics, RFID, telemetry and radar.
Operating effectively in higher bands requires more devices at short ranges. It is essential to combine the two. Spectrum band in the 57- 64 GHz is attractive for high capacity transmissions over short distances. The combination could help transform India into a digitally empowered society.
Trai has recommended the delicensing of 60 GHz band (for both indoor and outdoor apps). Department of Telecom should permit SRD proliferation.
A reasonable compromise could be to break up V-band into two parts — assign 7GHz for license-exempt high-speed broadband access at Gigabit speed and assign the remaining 7GHz for data backhaul.
In India, the transmission through optical fibre is not satisfactory. It is the reason why for backhaul telcos prefer wireless means. Apart from the V-band, the E-band of 70-80 GHz can be used for both backhaul and broadband access under IEE 802.11 protocols for WiFi.