Overview: The Economics of Releasing the V-band and E-band Spectrum in India

Abstract

Internet usage in India has witnessed an enormous growth in last few years. The wireless data usage in 2017 has increased from 20,092 million GB per year from 828 million GB per year in 2014, showing a growth of more than 24 times. This increasing use of data is causing congestion in the existing bands which finally affects the quality of services provided to consumers. In order to cater to this surge in data consumption, it is essential that there should be a commensurate increase in the supply of broadband internet. Perhaps the approach to the supply also needs to change. Availability of additional spectrum is an important piece of this puzzle. V-band (57 GHz - 64 GHz) and E-band (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) are two microwave bands which can be useful for bridging this need for additional spectrum. Spectrum in these bands can be used for high capacity data transmissions for last mile connectivity over short distances ranging from 200 meters to 3 km. These bands can be put to a variety of backhaul (i.e. for connecting towers). V-band can also be used for access under the Wi-Gig standards.