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Follow UsBhaskar Hazarika
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to come out with a Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) sharing model for mobile operators expanding their base in the rural areas across the country.
A senior official from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) informed that currently the telecom regulations do not allow sharing of active infrastructure for mobile operators. The active infrastructure includes outdoor BTS, associated antenna and portion of the backhaul.
“Currently the mobile operators share passive infrastructure, which includes sites, buildings, tower, electrical connection and power backup. Till now the technology did not allow sharing of single base stations by number of mobile operators but now it is available. So the government is likely to come up with some new guidelines on it,” the official said.
He said that BTS sharing has not yet emerged in India, but with the advent of the technology operators will soon be able to share it. “Some of the technology service providers have come up with this new technology which will help operators in reducing the cost on infrastructure,” he said.
However, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has given a positive nod on sharing of active infrastructure for mobile operators. This would enhance the operator’s performance to expand its network at a lesser cost. This is likely to reduce around 40 per cent of the operator’s cost in setting up the BTS.