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New Delhi, Jan 31: 

The Department of Telecom has set in motion the process for the next round of spectrum auction.

The Department has asked various internal units, including the Policy Group and the Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing, to take steps required for selling 700 Mhz band for broadband services.

A draft letter to the Secretary, Information & Broadcasting has been prepared requesting vacation of spectrum in this band. The 700 Mhz band is used for offering broadband services using fourth generation technologies. This is currently with the Ministry of I&B which wanted to use this band for mobile TV services. However, the National Frequency Allocation Plan has earmarked the band for wireless broadband in line with international standards.

The DoT has also alerted its Policy Group to seek the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in terms of reserve price, spectrum usage charge, quantum of spectrum to be auctioned and the eligibility criteria for the bidders. The Policy Group has also been given the task of finalising the auctioneer.

The DoT is also looking to get additional spectrum vacated from the Defence forces and the Department of Space. But this may require inter-ministerial consultation by a Group of Ministers. The DoT has asked WPC to identify items that may need a decision by the GoM by March 31 and prepare the agenda note by April 15, if required.

But the I&B Ministry is expected to oppose the plan. Earlier, it had written to the DoT saying that Doordarshan needs this band as it has initiated digitisation of its terrestrial networks.

The 700 Mhz band ranges from 698 Mhz to 806 Mhz and has been identified by the International Telecommunication Union for telecom services. In India, Doordarshan has been given a 40 Mhz bandwidth between 745 Mhz and 795 Mhz for digital terrestrial transmission in four metro cities. The balance is currently free but the I&B Ministry wants 96 Mhz in this frequency band reserved for mobile TV services.

tkt@thehindu.co.in

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DoT starts process for auctioning spectrum in 700 Mhz band

Two weeks after Internet users helped sideline controversial online piracy legislation, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., urged the Internet community on Tuesday to again rally to push Congress to free up more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and other new wireless technologies.

“It’s going to take your voices and the voices of a whole bunch of folks similar to what happened a few weeks ago ... to just rise up and make clear that that freedom, that the accessibility, capacity for innovation is vital to our future competitive position,” Kerry, chairman of the Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee, said at an event sponsored by the Wireless Innovation Alliance and the New America Foundation. 

Kerry was discussing concerns about a provision included in House spectrum legislation that would limit the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to free up more spectrum for unlicensed uses such as Wi-Fi.

Almost anyone who uses a tablet computer, laptop, or smartphone has likely taken advantage of the availability of unlicensed spectrum the FCC has provided in the past by using one of the growing Wi-Fi spots available at coffee shops, stores, and other places around the country. Kerry and other lawmakers, as well as tech companies, public-interest groups, and others, would like to see the FCC free up even more unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and new technologies but worry the provision in the spectrum bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee could derail that effort.

Kerry argued that the need for unlicensed spectrum for a whole range of current and future innovations is as important as the concerns raised in recent weeks about online-piracy legislation. Earlier this month, thousands of websites blocked part or all of their sites in protest over the online-piracy legislation, which critics said would stifle innovation and free speech on the Internet. The protest helped push congressional leaders to shelve the online piracy legislation for now. 

House and Senate negotiations on extending a payroll-tax cut may include spectrum legislation in the compromise package to help pay for the cost of tax legislation. Supporters of unlicensed spectrum don’t want conferees to include the House’s language if they include spectrum legislation in the final payroll-tax package. The House GOP spectrum bill would bar the FCC from reserving some spectrum from the so-called incentive auctions authorized by the legislation for unlicensed uses and would restrict the ability of the FCC to structure the auctions as they see fit. Incentive auctions are aimed at getting broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum for a share in the revenues. 

Reed Hundt, who served as FCC chairman during the Clinton administration, described the House spectrum bill as “the single worst telecom bill I have ever seen.” Hundt, however, said he is concerned it could get passed as part of the payroll-tax package because many members want to see payroll-tax cut extended.

The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee approved its spectrum bill, which was drafted by subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., late last year despite opposition from the panel’s top Democrats. The spectrum bill was included in the payroll-tax package approved by the House. The Senate Commerce Committee approved its own spectrum legislation last summer. The Wireless Innovation Alliance, a coalition of tech companies, public-interest groups and others, prefers Senate Commerce’s language on the issue but the Senate did not include spectrum legislation in its payroll-tax measure. 

Supporters of the House spectrum language may have the upper hand in negotiations with the Senate on the payroll-tax package. Both Walden and Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., are among the House conferees on the payroll-tax measure as is Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif. However, no Senate Commerce Committee members are on the payroll-tax conference panel, which would allow them to directly push for their version of the spectrum legislation.

“I’m worried … about the dynamics of the payroll-tax process because I’m not sure everybody engaged in that shares quite the same sensitivity that is represented in this room and elsewhere,” Kerry said.

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Kerry Seeks Internet Help on Spectrum

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- North Dakota's lottery may pursue using the Internet to sell tickets directly to buyers, a move touted as the "wave of the future" that some retailers fear will cost them business.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said any move would be explored gingerly and the Legislature would have to approve it.

"I certainly want to be careful that we're not interfering with the good relationship we've developed with the retailers in North Dakota," Stenehjem said. "We want to make sure we're not cutting them out of the process."

The concept isn't popular with the lottery's network of about 400 retailers, which sell most of the tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions and three smaller multistate games.

If North Dakota allows Internet lottery ticket sales, there is little point to keeping the lottery's existing network of convenience stores, grocers and other outlets that now market the tickets, said Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Retail Association. He said stores could use space taken up by lottery equipment for other things.

"If (Internet sales are) what we want to do, let's do it full bore. Take away the machines, let's do it all online," Rud said. "We kind of view it as an all-or-nothing proposition."

State lotteries across the country have been looking into Internet ticket sales after a U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion, made public last month, declared that state lotteries could use their websites to sell individual tickets to their states' residents, said David Gale, director of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.

The opinion came at the request of officials in Illinois and New York state. The Justice Department had previously asserted that federal law barred Internet gambling, a position that lottery advocates had vigorously disputed.

"It's the wave of the future. That's very obvious," Gale said of Internet sales. "It's a key element in attracting the emerging market that's out there."

Michael Jones, superintendent of the Illinois Lottery, said the agency hopes to begin marketing tickets for its Powerball and Lotto games on its website by early April.

Jones hopes to add Mega Millions to the sales lineup as well. Both Powerball and Mega Millions are played in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When jackpots for either game rise above $100 million, 300,000 to 500,000 additional players are drawn in, he said. Market research indicates that Internet sales would not hurt lottery ticket demand at traditional retailers, Jones said.

"Illinois and New York have kind of led the way, but I think everybody is looking at it now," Jones said.

The Illinois Legislature has already authorized a trial run to test the system's ability to ensure that players younger than 18 and those outside Illinois are blocked from buying tickets. In any case, ineligible players who won large prizes would not be paid, Jones said.

"Our lottery, and most lotteries, have not had any mechanism for many years to create new demand among people who don't play the lottery now," Jones said. "The lottery's been concentrating on selling more tickets to the same people, as opposed to selling tickets to a lot of people."

The North Dakota Lottery already sells ticket subscriptions in 13-, 26- and 52-week increments, which can be bought online using a credit card. Subscriptions make up only about 2 percent of the lottery's ticket sales, lottery director Randy Miller said Tuesday. During its last budget year, the lottery sold $23 million worth of tickets.

North Dakota players cannot buy individual tickets on the Internet, which prevents them from using the lottery website to jump in when jackpots exceed $100 million.

Stenehjem said any lottery's reliance on the Justice Department opinion to begin Internet lottery ticket sales carries its own risk. The opinion does not have the weight of a court ruling, and it could be trumped if Congress decides to change existing federal law, he said.

"This is an interpretation that is new," Stenehjem said. "It could just as easily switch back ... If the (presidential) administration changes, perhaps the interpretation will change, too."

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ND could explore Internet lotto sales

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