Government announces national plan for spectrum allocation

The government today announced the National Frequency Allocation Plan-2011 (NAFP), which will ensure efficient allocation of precious radio spectrum among competing uses.

The plan, which will come into force on 1 October 2011, will ensure that these scarce resources are used rationally, optimally, efficiently and economically, so that equitable access could be available to a large variety of radio communication network in an interference-free radio environment, minister of communications and information technology Kapil Sibal said while releasing the plan document.

Planning of frequency bands for various services and applications is necessary for their coexistence without constraining the existing assignments, he said, adding that the growing demand for information rich content, faster access speeds and mobility by both commercial and captive users is increasingly being met by broadband wireless application.

NFAP-2011 is a policy document on spectrum allocation for various radio communication services and applications in different frequency bands. This document provides the basis for development, manufacturing and spectrum utilisation activities in the country, both for government and private sectors, he said.

NFAP-2011 will ensure that the county's spectrum allocation policy is in line with the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The new policy has been developed to cater to the needs of newly emerging technologies such as ultra wide band (UWB), intelligent transport system (ITS), short-range devices etc.