NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is likely to release a discussion paper on spectrum auction this week, amidst negative opinion by operators.
Spectrum is the airwave required to connect mobile devices wirelessly for sending voice and data. It is the precious raw material for telecom operators like coal and gas are for power generation.
The spectrum can be categorised on generation of technology as 2G, 3G, and 4G based on the band of radio waves they use. Broadly, they are categorised in 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500 MHz. The latest one being 700 MHz under consideration.
The operators feel that the conditions are not right for another spectrum auction, with mounting debt on telecom operators and raising non-performing assets in banks, which will not fetch good price for government.
The consultation paper of spectrum auction and pricing is “…ready and we hopes to release it this week,” Trai chairman R S Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of ITU-Trai Asia-Pacific Regulators Roundtable.
However, senior executives in major telecom companies who did not wish to be identified said that the board of their companies has had discussion and they are not in favour of participating in a spectrum auction this year.
The telecom industry has been citing its poor financial health, and falling revenue and profitability to reason that the auctions should be held late next year or early 2019.
Moreover, the Department of Telecom has sought Trai’s views on spectrum price for various frequencies, including premium airwaves in the 700 MHz band, which remained unsold in the last auctions in October 2016.
During the last auction, the government had put airwaves worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore for sale. In the five-day auction, seven telecom companies made commitments of Rs 65,789 crore for buying 964.80 MHz of spectrum in various frequency bands.