Govt to seek Trai views on annual spectrum auction

Last auction had seen a muted response leading to only Rs 65,789 cr worth of radiowaves being sold

Terming India as a “spectrum supermarket”, Telecom Secretary J S Deepak on Tuesday said the government plans to auction radiowaves every year to allow operators to pick and choose what they want.

“In 2016, we put all the spectrum and we will do that in future also... They (players) can pick and choose what they want and the rest of it that remains, we can sell again and again and again... We are looking to do spectrum auction every year,” Deepak told reporters on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress here.

The operators should never have this feeling of being deprived or have shortage/ scarcity of spectrum, he added.

Last auction in 2016 had seen a muted response mainly because of high spectrum cost, leading to only Rs 65,789 crore worth of radiowaves being sold against an expectation of Rs 5.6 lakh crore. Nearly 60 per cent of the radiowaves, including premium 4G bands, remained unsold in that auction. Deepak said a road map has been identified for holding the auctions annually.

“We have identified a road map, where every year we will do a spectrum auction so telecom firms can plan their needs, whether they need to trade it, whether need to buy it from someone or get it in the auction, so that there is complete certainty and policy stability,” he added.

He further said: “...very soon, we are going to send a request to Trai for recommendations on the next auction which, I believe, should be held between July and December.” The recommendations sought will cover all issues from how much spectrum to be sold, to price and newer spectrum bands pricing, he added.