Government sources have confirmed that spectrum for mobile services will continue to be allocated through auctions in India, with administrative allocation reserved for limited use cases such as communication for space and satellite applications.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently moved the Supreme Court on April 22 to modify a 2012 order, allowing administrative allocation in select cases where using the auction route is not feasible.
Government officials clarified in the Supreme Court that this application was filed following due process before introducing the Telecom Bill in parliament, and it doesn’t require a change in Supreme Court judgement.
“Spectrum for mobile services will continue to be given through the auction process. In fact, one auction for 4G and 5G spectrum is currently ongoing,” they added.
DoT is gearing up for the next spectrum auction on June 6, including eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. The spectrum will be assigned for 20 years, with successful bidders allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments.
As per the Telecom Act, 2023, only very limited cases will be administratively allocated, amounting to a mere 5-7 percent of the total cases. These include spectrum for walkie-talkie for police organizations, radar for weather forecasting, communication for space and satellite applications, among others.
Last week, DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal mentioned that work on the Telecommunications Act, 2023 is underway, calling it a “very complex” piece of legislation. The act, aimed to replace older telecom acts, awaits notification and formulation of rules.