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NEW DELHI: All India Radio has a spectrum of just 4.7 MHz
exclusively reserved for its FM services and will need more
spectrum to achieve its objective of setting up 385 new FM
transmitters in the Twelfth Plan to increase the FM coverage
to India's 90 per cent population.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said that only
100 to 103.7 was presently reserved exclusively for FM broadcasting
services by AIR.
In contracts, 103.7 t0 108 MHz and 91.5 MHz to 95 MHz is exclusively
reserved for expansion of the private sector FM services.
At present, AIR FM reaches out to 41.43 per cent population
and 29.18 per cent area. This is part of the total AIR coverage
of 91.87 per cent area and 99.19 per cent population.
Even
prior to the 12th Plan scheme, FM Transmitters of varying
capacities are being installed in 224 more places throughout
the country by AIR, apart from 40 MW transmitters. This will
take the coverage to 38.75 per cent area and 53.53 per cent
population including villages and hamlets.
The
sources said 87 to 91.5 MHz and 95 to 100 MHz is shared between
Fixed/Mobile and FM broadcasting services. But Fixed/Mobile
Services have priority over FM broadcasting services.
Meanwhile,
531-1602 kHz (Medium Frequency) is an exclusive band for radio
broadcasting according to the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU). AIR gets allocation for Medium Wave radio services.
Furthermore, 3-26 MHz (High Frequency) is an exclusive band
for radio broadcasting and AIR gets allocation for Short Wave
radio services.
In addition, AIR is also using the Insat satellites for linking/feeding
of programmes to various stations in the country through S-Band:
2550-2590 MHz (Transponder S-1); 2590-2630 MHz ((Transponder
S-2); and C-Band : 4105-4145 MHz.
The sources said the assessment of spectrum requirement for
broadcasting and radio is done by Wireless Planning Coordination
Wing (WPC) of the Department of Telecom through a Committee
under the chairmanship of Wireless Advisor while drawing up
of National Frequency Allocation Plan. The NFAP 2011 is the
latest frequency allocation plan.
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