Mountaineers,
trekkers,
aero-modellers
and
hobbyists
sporting
radio-controlled
models
will no
longer
need
licences
to use the
airwaves.
The
Department
of
Telecommunications
(DoT) on
Thursday
gave the
go-ahead
for these
low-power
devices
that work
in the
so-called
`Citizen
Band' of
spectrum,
to operate
without
licences.
These
low-power
devices,
so long as
they
radiate
less than
5 watts of
power and
don't have
external
antennae,
can share
the
Citizen
Band
freely,
without
causing
interference,
the DoT's
Wireless
Planning
Cell has
decided.
A
notification
is likely
to be
issued
shortly to
formalise
the
decision,
the DoT
has said.
In
addition,
licences
to operate
amateur
radio
channels
have been
deregulated,
giving the
license
period a
15-year
extention
to twenty
or life
time, as
applicants
would
like.
Amateur
radio
operators
also need
not
approach
the DoT to
renew
their
licences,
as the
process
has been
made
automatic.
In January
2005, DoT
had
delicensed
the indoor
and
outdoor
use of
wireless
equipment
(in the
frequency
band 2.4
to 2.4835
GHz with
effective
radiated
power up
to 4
watts), in
line with
international
practices.
The indoor
use of low
power
equipment
in the
Wi-Fi
frequency
band has
also been
delicensed,
as with
the low
power
Radio
Frequency
Identification
Devices (RFID)
using the
865-867
MHz
frequency
spectrum.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=71563
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