DoT may auction spectrum for broadband services this fiscal

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering carrying out another round of spectrum auctions for broadband services this fiscal.

This comes after the Ministry of Finance asked DoT to expedite the auction process to generate revenues for the government to meet non-tax revenue targets. DoT expects to net around Rs 130 billion from the auction.

Currently, DoT holds 20 Mhz of broadband spectrum in the 2.3 Ghz band and garnered nearly Rs 390 billion from selling two slots of 20 Mhz each in this band.

Qualcomm, Bharti airtel, Aircel, Tikona and Reliance Infotel are among the companies that own spectrum in the 2.3 Ghz band.  These operators are planning to launch fourth generation (4G)-based broadband services using this spectrum.