The department of telecommunications (DoT) has identified spectrum of up to 60 MHz for 3G services in a move that could allow up to 12 players in a circle. The development is significant, as so far only 25 MHz was available for these soon-to-be-launched services, restricting the number of players to five. The identified spectrum will have to be vacated by the defence forces.
According to communications & IT minister A Raja, the government will soon announce its 3G policy, although he did not furnish a specific timeframe. ?We will be announcing the policy for 3G and WiMax broadband services very soon,? Raja said on Wednesday.
The government had postponed the policy announcement pending Tuesday?s vote of confidence in Parliament. Officials said that since changes suggested by Trai had already been incorporated, the policy should be made public within a week or two.
The possibility of wider spectrum availability for 3G services accommodating most existing players could dampen the auction price. However, as the government is likely to allow foreign and new domestic players to also bid for 3G services, the bids will still be high.
Under the position finalised by DoT, 60 MHz would be available in circles like Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala and Orissa. By allocating 5 MHz to each operator, DoT can accommodate 12 operators in these circles, most of which already have 12-13 operators.
Even in most other circles, spectrum availability ranges between 21 MHz and 54 MHz, accommodating 5-10 operators. The most licensed operators in each of these circles is 12 to13.
In the earlier scheme of things when only 25 MHz was available, unsuccessful bidders would have been put on a waitlist and allocated spectrum as and when available. Bidding would have been more aggressive in that scenario.
Either way, the government will not lose out on revenue. This is because DoT has raised the pan-India reserve price for eligible bidders from the earlier Rs 1,400 crore to around Rs 2,200 crore.