The Indian government has set an end-2011 target for public service broadcaster Doordarshan and other government agencies to move out of the 700MHz part of the spectrum so that an auction of the freed-up radio frequencies can take place in 2012, reports the Economic Times. The 700MHz band would likely be popular among potential bidders interested in offering wireless broadband services. Deploying a network in that part of the spectrum would cost only one third of an investment in the 2.3GHz band auctioned last year according to an internal government memo, says the report. A number of operators including Reliance Industries-backed Infotel Broadband hold Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) 2.3GHz frequencies, following auctions last summer.

Among those operators eyeing the possibility of new spectrum appearing in the 700MHz band is Bharti Airtel. The operator won 2.3GHz spectrum last year in four circles but is more excited about future spectrum awards. “We will experiment with these four circles and by then fresh broadband spectrum auctions will be held,” the operator’s chairman Sunil Mittal told the Economic Times.