The government has asked search engine giant Google to select a telecom operator in India for testing its Loon Project, the balloon-based internet technology.
If Google wants to conduct a test with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), it can carry out the experiment in the spectrum held by the state-owned company, an official said.
Google has approached the government to set up the Loon Project that has the potential to replace mobile towers as it can transmit signal directly on 4G mobile phones.
The telecom ministry has set up a panel under the information technology secretary and asked BSNL to look at providing necessary support for the test.
Discussions were held in October-November but the project hit a roadblock after Google wanted to conduct test in 700 megahertz (MHz) or 800 MHz band rather than the 2,500 MHz band that BSNL holds.
The 700 Mhz band is the efficient and costliest spectrum for telecom services and is yet to be allocated to any service provider. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested including this spectrum in upcoming auction at a minimum price of Rs.11,485 crore per MHz and a company has to purchase a minimum of 5 MHz.
For Project Loon, Google is using big balloons floating at a height of 20 km above the earth for transmission of Internet services. It has already tested this technology in the US, Brazil and New Zealand.
Dear readers, please share your views and opinions about these new attractive offers by BSNL via comments with us.
No comments:
Post a Comment