"For successful WiMax deployment, spectrum needs to be allocated in the 2.5-GHz band, but in India there are issues with its satellites," Ron Resnick, chairman and president of the WiMax Forum, was quoted as saying in a report Wednesday (Nov. 15) in The Economic Times (New Delhi).

The 2.5-GHz frequency is used globally for WiMax services, but the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has instead recommended 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.3- to 3.4-GHz band for the service. That proposal has also encountered resistance, however, since DoS controls the 3.4- to 3.6-GHz band as well.

The WiMax Forum, meanwhile, objects to the TRAI recommendation that each service provider be given only a 15-MHz channel for broadband. "We feel that India should go for a 20-MHz channel, which is the minimum channel requirement. Globally, WiMax equipment is configured to work on 20-MHz channels," Resnick said.

Resnick welcomed the TRAI recommendation for spectrum allocation in the 3.4- to 3.6-GHz band but said it would need to be offered together with slots in the 2.5- to 2.69-GHz band to accommodate more players.