In response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India?s (TRAI) recommendations on Auction of Spectrum, the GSMA has released a statement saying that the regulator?s guidelines will set India back in its goal to deliver ?Broadband on Demand? to citizens.
?The proposals disregard international best practice in spectrum policy and jeopardise the investment of billions of dollars in new mobile infrastructure in a sector that either directly, or indirectly, employs almost 10 million people and serves more than 911 million consumers.?
?The European 3G experience more than a decade ago made clear that auctions designed to maximise revenue, hinders the development of the mobile sector and the socio-economic benefits that mobile delivers to the public. Reducing the ability of mobile operators to invest in network upgrades and expansion would undermine the ability of India to leverage its telecom infrastructure to empower citizens and businesses, especially those in rural communities, to participate equitably in the Internet economy. For example, the TRAI?s proposed reserve prices for the upcoming spectrum auctions are so prohibitively high that they will inevitably curtail mobile operator investment in Mobile Broadband infrastructure and increase prices to consumers.?
?The efforts to squeeze money out of mobile operators for some perceived short-term gain will only reduce investment in networks, inhibit growth of mobile services and drive up consumer prices, as it will limit the value the public will derive from the spectrum resource in the long term,? said Franco Bernab?, chairman, GSMA and chairman and CEO, Telecom Italia Group.
GSMA believes that TRAI?s recommendations would not only drive up the cost of the mobile spectrum, but would also create artificial scarcity of this critical resource. In advance of license renewal, TRAI has proposed to force current 900 MHz licensees out of the band into the 1800 MHz band. As a result, TRAI would limit the available spectrum in the upcoming 1800 MHz 2G auction and leave the remainder under-utilised for a significant period, creating unnecessary scarcity at a time when India has an opportunity to shape the future of the mobile industry. This effectively means that billions of dollars of investment would be wasted.
