Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular ask DoT to auction 2G spectrum

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular have asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to auction 2G spectrum.

Prior to this, the Telecom Commission (TC) had reached a consensus on December 9, 2011, to impose a one-time fee on incumbent GSM operators on the excess spectrum they hold beyond the 6.2-MHz limit.

Also, the Commission had reportedly reached a consensus on permitting liberal merger and acquisition (M&A) norms to promote consolidation in the Indian telecom market.

Further, the Commission has agreed that the annual revenue share be fixed at a uniform 8 per cent for all operators.

Currently, the revenue share varies, based on factors such as service and region.