The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to take back the excess spectrum held by GSM operators, say news reports.
AUSPI has asked DoT to take back excess spectrum held by GSM operators beyond the contracted spectrum of 6.2 MHz and auction it along with the 13.75 MHz of spectrum in the upcoming spectrum auction. According to AUSPI, GSM players holding excess spectrum ought to pay DoT penalty of Rs 369.93 billion.
AUSPI has said that existing GSM operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone hold excess spectrum, while the new GSM operators have not been allotted either their start-up spectrum or spectrum up to the contracted value of 6.2 MHz.
