One of the committees? of the Department of Telecommunications examining the administrative allotment of spectrum has recommended that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) be asked to give its recommendations on issues related to the pricing of unsold spectrum.
The recommendation comes over the government?s inability to auction the entire spectrum amount in March 2013 and November 2012. According to DoT, the regulatory authority could examine the issue of spectrum pricing which had led to the failure of real price discovery. Currently, spectrum in 14 circles in the 800 MHz band, four circles in the 1800 MHz band and three circles in the 900 MHz band remains unsold. Telecom operators did not bid for spectrum in the three bands, on grounds that the base price was too high.
Further, the DoT committee has recommended that the issues regarding allotment and pricing of spectrum for public or commercial services as well as for community radio services should be referred to TRAI. It stated that the regulatory body?s recommendations should be sought on whether spectrum for community radio should be priced differently or be exempted from paying licence fees.
