Telecom Commission scheduled to meet on June 13

Will discuss a host of issues, including the broadband project, spectrum auction, mobile services in Naxal-infected areas

The first meeting of the Telecom Commission under the new government is scheduled for June 13 to discuss a host of issues, including the broadband project, spectrum auction, mobile services in Naxal-infected areas and spectrum sharing norms.

"It has been scheduled for June 13," a senior government official told PTI.

An inter-ministerial panel, Telecom Commission, has representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Planning Commission, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Department of Telecom, among others.

The agenda of the meeting includes discussions on the status of National Optical Fibre Network under which 2.5 lakh village panchayats are expected to be connected with high speed broadband services by September, 2015.

Spectrum sharing, auction of CDMA airwaves, telecom infrastructure in the North-East are also part of the agenda.

Under the spectrum sharing, it is proposed that operators be allowed to share the spectrum with other players in the same service area with permission from the DoT. Initial permission for any such sharing will be granted for five years and may be extended further.

For CDMA spectrum auction, sources said, a DoT panel had suggested seeking further clarifications from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

TRAI gave its recommendation on January 28 on spectrum trading guidelines, and on auction of the CDMA band (800 Mhz frequencies) on February 22.