India could possibly be looking at aggressive changes in spectrum auctioning, if the latest recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are any indication.
The recommendations, released on Tuesday, were in response to a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reference seeking TRAI’s views on reserve prices, band plans, block sizes, quantum of spectrum and auction conditions for 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz, along with fresh advice on 600 MHz and the newly identified “upper 6 GHz” ranges.
TRAI’s proposal more or less calls for the entire available spectrum in 600 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz tobe put up for sale in the forthcoming auction. TRAI also urged DoT to immediately initiate action to take back spectrum held by telecom service providers undergoing corporate insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, so it can be re-auctioned.
To widen participation, the regulator recommended lowering the net-worth requirement for new entrants from Rs 100 crore per Licensed Service Area (LSA) to Rs 50 crore per LSA, and from Rs 50 crore to Rs 25 crore each for Jammu & Kashmir and North East LSAs.
The recommendations also called for the spectrum to be assigned as contiguously as possible, with DoT completing harmonisation within six months after the auction.
The 600 MHz band, however, gets special treatment. TRAI recommends auctioning it with a 2×5 MHz block size and allowing a longer validity (20 years plus an additional 4 years), along with delayed rollout obligations for the first four years. It has also suggested a payment option with just 5 per cent upfront and a four-year moratorium before annual instalments begin, while protecting the net present value of the bid amount.
Another focal area is the hotly debated upper 6 GHz ranges (6425–6725 MHz and 7025–7125 MHz). TRAI recommended keeping them reserved for IMT but not auctioning them yet, and revisiting the decision after the outcome of the upcoming ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027.
The detailed ‘Recommendations on the Auction of Radio Frequency Spectrum in the Frequency Bands Identified for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)’ are available on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India website.
