The Hindu Business Line : TRAI given time till Nov for 2G spectrum policy

Existing mobile players will have to wait further for additional spectrum as the Communications Ministry has agreed to give the telecom regulator time till November to submit its recommendations on 2G spectrum allocation policy. This also means that 2G spectrum criteria will probably be unclear even at the time of 3G auctions.

Existing operators had told the Government that spectrum allocation for 2G cellular phones should be made clear before the auction so that they can put a value to the 3G spectrum.

The Department had earlier told the telecom regulator to give its recommendations by September. But TRAI had expressed its inability to finish the consultation process before November.

The telecom regulator has told the DoT that since the issue was complex and interlinked to a number of other issues such as capping on number of players, it will need more time.

Meanwhile, the Government has put on hold all fresh allocation of spectrum and licences till the policy is finalised. A DoT panel had earlier suggested major changes in the way spectrum is allocated by doing away with the existing subscriber linked criteria. It had also suggested a uniform licence fee and spectrum charge once all spectrum is auctioned.

Uniform licence fee

The DoT Secretary, Mr Siddharth Behura, on Monday said the Government will soon come out with a uniform and single licence fee for telecom service providers. At present, operators pay 6-10 per cent of their annual revenues.

He added that the Government has in-principle agreed to the de-linking the spectrum from the licence, as suggested by an internal telecom operator report.

The Telecom Secretary said there is a possibility of giving ‘conditional’ licence to successful WiMax bidders till the issue of interference with satellite service was resolved.

The Department of Space had raised concerns of interference between WiMax services and its own satellite broadcast operations.

Related Stories:
Ministry may dump spectrum panel’s proposal on 2G auction
DoT panel mulls new 2G spectrum pricing formula
Market forces should have determined price of 2G licences: TRAI

More Stories on : Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Telecommunications

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