According to Dr Neeraj Mittal, secretary (T), Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the upcoming spectrum auctions will be conducted in the next 2-3 months. He added that the sale will be primarily for telecom operators to top up existing spectrum for their ongoing operations.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Bharat Pavilion at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Dr Mittal stated that telcos are not expected to make significant investments on spectrum this year, especially since they bought a lot in the previous auction. He indicated that the government’s collection target for the upcoming auctions is lower than the Rs 1.5 trillion netted in the 5G spectrum auction held in 2022.
Further, Dr Mittal also said that the DoT is working on setting the general rules around the new Indian Telecommunications Act, 2023.
