The government is considering the option of auctioning 285 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in the third round of the upcoming spectrum auction. The 285 MHz of spectrum was freed-up following the cancellation of 122 2G licences by the Supreme Court in February 2012.
The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in a communication to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has stated that following the cancellation of 2G licences a total spectrum of 413.6 MHz in the 1800 MHz band has been freed up. Out of this the government successfully auctioned 127.5 MHz of spectrum in the last round of the spectrum auction held in November 2012.
However, to comply with the Supreme Court?s order of auctioning the entire freed-up spectrum, the government was to put up the remaining 286.1 MHz of spectrum for auction. However, as per TRAI?s recommendations, the spectrum to be auctioned needs to be in the block sizes of 1.25 MHz each, therefore the freed-up spectrum has to be rounded up in the multiples of 1.25 MHz. But, following the rounding up of spectrum, the freed-up spectrum in each service area, except in the Delhi and Mumbai circles where 15 MHz of spectrum is to be auctioned, adds up to 315 MHz.
However, DoT on its part has added that since some of the spectrum freed up falls in the proposed spectrum to be used by defence forces, the spectrum cannot be used for providing commercial services. Therefore, with a part of the spectrum falling in defence zone, government is likely to take the decision of auctioning 285 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
