Telecom operators divided on TRAIs 700 MHz band auction
Posted on: 26/Dec/2015 11:04:26 AM
Telecom operators have asked TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) not to auction the 700 MHz band yet. Operators such as Airtel, Idea and Reliance Jio have asked the watchdog to wait till enough devices are able to access the services that the premium band offers.
Reliance Jio, for one, still needs to launch its 4G services. Says a company official, It will be prudent to not auction the spectrum in 700 MHz band now. A recommended approach would be to do an ecosystem evaluation in two years time and plan the auctions accordingly. An official from Bharti Airtel says, Any immediate auction of the spectrum in 700 MHz band will lead to underutilisation of the spectrum for several years and block industry`s fund and therefore it should be auctioned only after development of a strong device ecosystem. The official statement from Vodafone says, Necessary caution may be exercised in respect of the terms of auction, including valuation, reserve price, rollout obligations, etc.
On the other hand Telenor and Tata Teleservices are for the auction of the spectrum. Telenor says, The device ecosystem for APT700 Band 28 is developing at a good pace and 214 devices are already available in this band globally... Assuming that the auctions are concluded in first quarter or second quarter of 2016 and the allocations of spectrum happens by third or fourth quarter of 2016, telecom service providers (TSPs) in India will be ready with their 700 MHz networks by mid 2017 and there will be big momentum in APT700 eco-system by that time.
