Telecom Commission has asked TRAI to review its recommendations related to the next round of spectrum auction. This follows objections raised by a technical committee of the Department of Telecom. The auctions could get delayed if the TRAI takes time to come out with its review.
An internal committee of the Department of Telecom had rejected the telecom regulator's recommendation to conduct the next round of auction only when there is enough spectrum.
The committee has said that there is no visibility of when additional spectrum will be vacated by the Defence and, hence, there is no point in stalling the sale of what is already available.
The telecom operators, backed by TRAI, had argued that the auction should not be held till the Government is able to find enough spectrum to ensure continuity of service for existing players.
To make fresh spectrum available for mobile services, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had suggested that the Government should ask Defence forces to vacate spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band. In addition, it had proposed that BSNL should be asked to surrender 1.2 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band.
However, the DoT panel has rejected these proposals on grounds that while the defence will take time to vacate spectrum, asking BSNL to surrender airwaves may have legal implications.
The committee said that the proposed auction scheduled for early next year should not be linked to the availability of fresh bands.