TRAI recommends delicensing of some spectrum for M2M services

•  In order to facilitate the smooth roll-out of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications utilising licence exempt airwaves, sectoral regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended delicensing of a chunk of spectrum in a few bands.

What is M2M?

• Machine-to-Machine is where “Machines” use network resources to communicate with remote application infrastructure for the purposes of monitoring and control, either of the “machine” itself, or the surrounding environment.
• The machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is expected to be the norm among households to control consumer durables like TV, washing machine, air conditioner and the like with the help of mobile phones from a remote location. Under this, the devices will be fitted with SIM or universal integrated circuit card (eUICC).
• The ecosystem of M2M is also developing in the automobile segment, highway tolls, public transport and surveillance, among others.
• M2M can impact various industry verticals like smart city, smart grid, smart water, smart transportation, smart health etc.
• The government has also recognized the potential of M2M and emphasized the same in National Telecom Policy 2012.

Important recommendations made:

• Companies offering M2M services using unlicensed spectrum like the one used for wifi should be covered under licence through a new permit to be called Unified Licence (UL) (M2M). Companies willing to opt for licence for M2M services should pay one-time entry fee in the range of Rs20,000 to Rs30 lakh, depending on the area they wish to cover.
• The UL (M2M) permit holder should be allowed to bid for licensed spectrum if it is keen to provide M2M services in the licensed band.
• The regulator recommended that the basic services licensees (landline services) and Internet service providers need to be allowed to provide M2M connectivity, including in unlicensed band, within the area of their existing authorisations, barring M2M cellular services.
• There is no need to separately allocate spectrum band for such services. Requirement of additional licensed spectrum for access services to meet the projected influx of connected devices due to M2M communication will be revisited by the authority after WRC-19.
• The regulator has recommended smooth rollout of M2M services utilising the licence exempt spectrum, adding that the government should consider delicensing of 1 Mhz of spectrum from 867-868 Mhz and a chunk of 6 Mhz of spectrum at 915-935 Mhz.

By: Vishal