The department of telecommunications (DoT) is likely to ask the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to re-examine some of the latter’s recommendations on spectrum management and allied licensing issues.
There was a lack of agreement in the Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body of DoT, at its meeting on Wednesday to discuss Trai’s recommendations. “We will refer back the recommendations of Trai where there have been differences,” said an official.
The recommendations were on the lock-in period for mergers and acquisitions, apart from the pricing of excess spectrum and criteria for allotment.
DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar said, “It was decided to get Trai's views on certain recommendations. There are inter-linkages among recommendations. It is not desirable to get piecemeal approval. The commission appreciated the need for consolidation in the industry but there were certain aspects of recommendations regarding mergers and acquisitions that needed additional views of Trai.”
Trai recommended a lock-in period of five years, while the department wants it to be for three years. It is learnt there was no final decision on other aspects of mergers and acquisitions in the meeting on Wednesday, which included the maximum market share for a combined entity and maximum spectrum a combined entity could be allowed to hold. On pricing, Trai had suggested 2G spectrum up to 6.2 MHz be priced at 53 per cent of the 3G auction price and at 136 per cent of the 3G price for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz.
