The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is unable to reach a consensus on whether to auction 2G spectrum in the future to arrive at an appropriate price for the resource or opt for the mechanism suggested by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which recommended an over six-fold hike in rates.
This will be a part of the New Telecom Policy 2011. Prior to this, the Minister of Telecommunications and IT, Kapil Sibal had already announced delinking spectrum from licence to enhance transparency in the system.
TRAI, in its report in released in February 2011, had recommended an over six-fold increase in the price for start-up 2G spectrum at Rs 109.72 for a pan-India licence, compared to Rs 16.58 billion currently.
Also, each Mhz of additional spectrum held by operators beyond the contracted 6.2 Mhz should cost one-time Rs 45.71 billion (all India).
