The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to conclude ground-level harmonisation of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band by October 2015.

According to COAI, harmonisation of the 1800 MHz band would result in availability of an additional 10 MHz of contiguous 4G service spectrum in the band, which could then be put up for sale during the auctions expected to be held in March 2016. COAI has stated that the telecom operators have already provided all inputs sought by the government for reconfiguration of frequency spots.

Spectrum harmonisation is also important for rearrangement of 1800 MHz airwaves between the telecom operators and the armed forces. Further, the move is expected to benefit both the industry and the government as it would create a superior spectrum resource ideal for high-speed 4G-long term evolution (LTE) services and would also increase the valuation of such spectrum, thereby boosting the revenue generating potential for DoT in the March 2016 auction.