Assocham asks DoT to free up adequate spectrum before auction

Assocham also calls for a dialogue for vacation of spectrum held by defence and from BSNL

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), on Wednesday, has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to free up adequate harmonised spectrum across bands - 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz, before the auction starts in February next year.

"Hold auctions only once there is adequate spectrum as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)," said the industry body in a meeting with the DoT secretary Rakesh Garg on Wednesday.

Assocham also said that there was a need for a dialogue for vacation of spectrum held by defence and from BSNL. It added that wireless should be the platform of choice for meeting the Digital India vision of the new Government.

Adequate spectrum at reasonable reserve prices would safeguard against over-spend on bandwidth at the cost of network investment by telecom operators, said Assocham in a statement. The industry lobby also asked the DoT to lay down a clear roadmap for availability of spectrum prior to the next auction and said timely access to spectrum would be needed post auction process.

It added that a flexible regime around licensing issues, rationalisation of levies, duties and penalties, along with speedy rollout of infrastructure are required which can be done by removing bottlenecks.

It has also asked the DoT to immediately notify guidelines on spectrum sharing and trading and review merger and acquisitions (M&A) guidelines.