Administrative allocation of spectrum only in limited cases; auction route to continue: Govt sources

The spectrum will be assigned for 20 years and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments in the coming mega auction

Spectrum for mobile services will continue to be given through an auction process in India, and administrative allocation of airwaves will only be done for limited use cases, including communication for space and satellite applications, government sources said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) moved the Supreme Court on April 22 to modify the 2012 order to allow for administrative allocation in select cases where using the auction route is not technically feasible.

Government officials clarified the matter in the Supreme Court, which is an application filed following the due process before introducing the Telecom Bill in parliament. They said the application doesn’t require a Supreme Court judgement change.

“Spectrum for mobile services will continue to be given through auction process. In fact, currently one auction for 4G and 5G spectrum is currently ongoing,” they added.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) is gearing up to hold the next round of spectrum auction on June 6 for eight spectrum bands (800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz) meant for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. The spectrum will be assigned for 20 years, and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments for 20 equal annual instalments in the coming mega auction.

As enacted in the Telecom Act, 2023, only very limited and narrowly defined cases including spectrum for walkie-talkie for police organizations, radar for weather forecasting, radar and communication for ships, communication for space and satellite applications, communication and radar for Army, Air Force and Navy and PSU like BSNL will be given on administrative basis.

Sources said the total allocations amount to a minuscule 5-7 percent of the cases.

“The matter in Supreme Court is an application for clarification on these points considering the multiple litigations. It was filed in the Supreme Court following the due process before introducing the Telecom Bill in the parliament,” sources added.

Last week, DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal told Moneycontrol that work on the Telecommunications Act, 2023 is underway, referring to it as a “very complex” piece of legislation. The act, meant to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, is awaiting notification.

“It's a very complex piece of legislation, with some 37 sections, where rules have to be formulated and notified. We have to harmonise whatever we have done in the past, and all the past licences have to be looked at. So, all that background work is happening, but it will be a while before we are able to do it. The act itself requires notification, and then sections require notification. So, all that background work is underway,” he said.