'It's for defence ministry to release more spectrum'

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is hopeful that the defence ministry would release more spectrum for the 3G auction scheduled for next month.

“Now that we have got Cabinet approval for laying an alternative dedicated network for the defence, we are hopeful that defence will release more spectrum,” a DoT official said. The alternative optical fibre cable project would enable the defence to release more radio waves.

Earlier, DoT had signed an MoU with the Ministry of Defence according to which the defence should release 10 Mhz more of 3G spectrum by June 2010. The Ministry of Defence has already released 10 Mhz for 3G auction. With DoT getting the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure earlier this month, DoT feels the defence should look at releasing some more spectrum.

Asked if there would be any meeting scheduled to discuss this, the official said meetings were ongoing on a weekly basis. They have been informed of this and keeping the defence’s convenience in mind, the minister has already announced that the allocation of spectrum to the auction winners would be only in August.

Earlier an inter-ministerial panel led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had decided there would be four slots to be auctioned and spectrum allocation would be done simultaneously by August.