The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has attempted to reverse recommendations made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and place new entrants including Tata DOCOMO and Uninor first in the queue for airwaves, according to reports. These operators have not yet received start-up spectrum in several circles.
In order to make this more credible, the DoT sought legal opinion on 24 September to change the priority order. However, DoT?s legal wing has endorsed TRAI?s recommendation and said that additional airwaves should first be made available to new entrants who have already been awarded start-up spectrum to help them perform their operations efficiently.
Nevertheless, TRAI?s recommendation is expected to induce additional controversy as operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea amongst others who are awaiting additional frequencies for close to two years are set to oppose the policy change that will give priority to the new entrants.
