Security Provisions.

6.1 Security provisions should be taken note of and appropriately included while issuing licences or tenders.

6.2. Defence is a major user in the NFAP-81, a concept that has stood the test of time and should continue. In addition to the spectral constraints mentioned at para 2.4, due to the unprecedented growth of public telecommunication services and increase in the number of radio users all along the international border, the problems of Spectrum Management have increased manifold. The speed at which new technologies are introduced further complicate the already complex problems of spectrum management. In the light of the above, the concept of Defence Interest Zone along our international borders and areas of strategic interest in the hinterland, oceanic region and island territories become relevant in our context so that during hot war and low intensity conflict scenarios our armed forces are able to maintain flexibility and agility in the use of frequency band and have freedom of operation of communication and non communication equipment over the entire areas in the Defence Interest Zone (DIZ) . A proposal on the concept of DIZ is at Appendix E.

6.3. Background. The liberalised communication policy of the Government combined with information technology explosion and expanding telecommunications needs of the private sector are resulting in over crowding of electromagnetic spectrum. Most of the new value added services are radio based and hence, frequency spectrum is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Defence will remain a major user of the frequency spectrum not only for strategic and tactical communication network but also for other operationally vital systems including the increasing tempo of electronic warfare. To remain technologically ahead of our adversaries, it is absolutely essential that armed forces have full control and freedom to use their electronic systems.

6.4. New Technology Induction. More importantly, new technologies being introduced have their own security implications including licensing private service operators servicing the DIZ. When ever major decisions on spectrum usage are taken in national and international foras, defence should be consulted.

6.5. Representation of Defence Services. In order to address the issues related to National Security, and protect the defence interests in the use of frequency spectrum, there is an explicit need that representatives of defence services of appropriate rank are co-opted in the decision making process on formulation of telecom policies and development of telecom infrastructure in the country. This would enable defence to ab-initio examine the security and frequency spectrum aspects. It would also ensure that operational requirements of the defence are integrated in the overall plans for development of telecom infrastructure in the country.

6.6 Defence Services employ a wide variety of equipment to meet specific needs. Development and induction of equipment in Defence is an expensive and long drawn process. Once deployed, it becomes difficult to modify/retrofit equipment to meet alternate frequency allocation. It would be pertinent to note that a considerable portion of our equipment is sourced from the international market and is frequency band specific thus ruling out any relocation. Even when the equipment is procured from indigenous sources, cost implications for a relocation would be exorbitant, and changeover time consuming, as Defence networks are usually very large and linear. It would also be seen that Western countries do not have a problem of introducing new technologies in the 1800 MHz band because these bands are outside the ‘NATO bands’ in which no public system development/deployment is allowed.

6.7. Notwithstanding the above, keeping national perspective in mind, defence has agreed to co-ordination and accommodation to the extent feasible within their existing spectrum without jeopardising national security. However, to accommodate additional users in its spectrum, it needs to upgrade its technologies (e.g. convert existing analog systems to digital), which need appropriate financial compensation to meet the mutually acceptable time frames.