[Satellite TODAY 02-22-12] The Indian Department of Space has requested that the Indian government reserve part of its spectrum in the 2.5 GHz frequency band for providing satellite services, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced Feb. 21.

   The spectrum is currently being used for wireless broadband services. Indian space officials want the government to reserve 150 MHz of airwaves as part of India’s National Telecom Policy (NTP), which is under development.

   ISRO is in the process of developing its GSAT-11 broadband satellite, which aims to provide connectivity to mainland as well as island regions. The Space Department and ISRO have been pushing the government to include satellite-based broadband services in the new telecom policy.

   In the NTP, the Indian government has proposed to make spectrum available in the 450 MHz, 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1910 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bandwidths, as well as those that have been identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for commercial mobile services. 

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