India’s telecom regulators are planning a new multi-band spectrum sale for 2016 that could raise more than this year’s auction.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has contacted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to request that it set reserve prices for spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands, the Economic Times reported on Monday, citing an unnamed senior DoT official. The new auction could also see 700-MHz spectrum for 4G services made available for the first time.
The auction, which is likely to be held early next year, could raise more than the 1.09 trillion rupees (€15.9 billion) generated by the country’s most recent multi-band auction that ended in March, the paper said.
Some of the spectrum up for grabs next year is currently in use by telcos whose licences are due to expire at various times in 2017. Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices have concessions that run to March and September 2017 respectively in certain ci rcles. State-run MTNL’s Delhi and Mumbai licences in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands expire in October 2017, but the paper said it is not yet clear whether those frequencies will be auctioned or whether the government will simply renew the concessions at market prices.
The auction will also contain new spectrum that the state will obtain through the harmonisation process or recover from defence use, as well as unsold frequencies from previous auctions.
The Economic Times’ source said the new auction will include the remaining 15 MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum that proved contentious in the run-up to this year’s auction.
In January the government gave the go-ahead for just 5 MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum to be included in the sale, fending off pressure from the TRAI to allocate the full 20 MHz, despite the fact that 15 MHz would not be immediately available to operators since it remained in defence hands.
The DoT has also requested that the TRAI set a reserve price for 30 MHz of 700-MHz spectrum across all 22 telecoms circles.
However, there is no guarantee that the 700 MHz sale will take place next year. The Economic Times’ DoT source said the government will gauge the response from the industry before it makes a final decision. It is not yet clear whether the 700 MHz ecosystem is ready or whether telcos are prepared to buy the frequencies at this stage, the paper said.
