India’s three largest mobile operators plan to petition authorities to postpone the planned auction of spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band, it emerged this week.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular will appeal to India’s Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) either together or separately, the Financial Express reported on Monday, citing industry sources.
The telcos are seeking a postponement of the sale of 5 MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum until interference issues are resolved. They could make their appeal this week, the newspaper claimed.
The Indian government plans to sell 5 MHz of 2.1-GHz spectrum in 17 circles at its broader auction of frequencies next month. The decision to do so has drawn controversy, with many interested parties, including the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), urging the government to delay the sale until more 2.1-GHz spectrum becomes available; the military is due to free up another 15 MHz of 2.1-GHz frequencies.
However, late last month the cabinet gave the go-ahead for the sale to take place as part of the auction of 800-MHz, 900-MHz and 1800-MHz spectrum that is due to begin on 4 March. It also approved a reserve price of 37.05 billion rupees (over €500 million) per MHz, again disappointing the TRAI, which had campaigned for a lower rate. The regulator is concerned that the limited amount of spectrum and a high base price will lead to artificially high prices for the airwaves.
According to the Financial Express, India’s operators are concerned that the regulatory authorities have not addressed problems related to interference in the 2.1-GHz band. Specifically, the 1900-MHz band used by operators in Pakistan interferes with India’s 2.1-GHz band in circles on the border, the paper explained.
The report referred particularly to the Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat circles, where interference results in poor quality of service on 3G. While 2.1-GHz spectrum is not available for all of those circles in the March auction, the telcos are still keen for the state to address the interference issue before any sale takes place.
