The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is set to make the first set of spectrum allocations to the winners in the March 2015 auctions. The allocations are likely to be made only for those operators that are planning to launch 3G and 4G services through the acquired spectrum. However, spectrum bought against renewal permits will only be allocated between December 2015 and April 2016.
Consequently, DoT has recently issued letters of intent (LoIs) to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), for the same. The actual spectrum assignments, however will happen only after telecom operators complete all formalities, post-receipt of LoIs, including submission of bank guarantees.
Earlier in 2014, DoT was criticised for a delay of about eight months in allocations of spectrum won by operators in the February 2014 auction. Timely spectrum allocation is critical to avoid coverage disruptions as telecom operators require time to reconfigure networks, post-assignment of spectrum.
