LONDON, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, GSMA, offered the following statement regarding India's decision to recommend the Asia Pacific (APT) band plan for the allocation of the 700MHz spectrum band to mobile:
"The GSMA welcomes yesterday's decision by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to recommend the full 2x45MHz APT band plan for allocation of the 700MHz spectrum band to deliver mobile broadband services in the country. India's decision follows the earlier adoption or active consideration of the APT band plan by many Asia Pacific countries including Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Taiwan, as well as by a number of markets in Latin America.
"The decision to allocate the 700MHz spectrum band, referred to as the Digital Dividend in many parts of the world, will be crucial for the delivery of universal mobile broadband access. It will bring a wealth of socio-economic benefits to the country as a whole and, in particular, to those in remote areas. One of India's key goals remains the connection of the 800 million citizens who live in rural areas and the regulator's recommendation represents a major step towards achieving this goal.
"As more countries in the Asia Pacific region follow India's lead, greater regional harmonisation will drive economies of scale in the mobile handset market, reduce end user costs and enable Asian consumers to roam seamlessly throughout the region."
Notes to Editors
Recommendations from the TRAI can be found here: http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/WhatsNew/Documents/Final%20-%20IMT%20Reco%2019MARCH2013.pdf
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators with more than 230 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com or Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com
