DCC approves norms to ease access to spectrum for outdoor tech testing

While the Department of Telecom has already issued a circular in 2019 to use spectrum for testing products and services by just informing the department, there were challenges in outdoor testing for the homegrown industry in hardening the products in the licenced band that require field trials for longer periods.

''The DCC has approved a report of the experimental spectrum committee on 'spectrum regulatory sandbox'. This will ease outdoor testing of new products, especially in the case of 5G technology,'' an official source said.

The spectrum regulatory sandbox model will enable research and development activity of wireless technologies in unused, unallocated, unsold spectrum frequencies as well as those bands falling under the licence category.

The DoT has already issued a circular in 2019 which allows companies to use spectrum for R&D purposes by just informing the wireless planning wing. The new model approved by DCC is expected to expedite the decision making process at the DoT for outdoor testing of new technologies particularly 5G.