The GSMA has urged the Indian government to make sure it only conducts the next big spectrum auction when there are sufficient airwaves available.
Next year's auctions to reallocate spectrum across the 800-MHz, 900-MHz, 1800-MHz and 2100-MHz bands - partly to renew established operators' existing licenses - could damage India's telco sector if mishandled, GSMA chief regulatory officer Tom Phillips said in a statement.
“Failure of the existing operators to retain their current spectrum, which is due to be relicensed as part of the auction process, would not only jeopardise their businesses, but threaten the continuity of the vital mobile services they provide to citizens across the country,” he said.
Sector regulator Trai has already recommended that the government make more spectrum available prior to the auction.
Recommendations include swapping the 2100-MHz spectrum currently assigned to the military with another band, so this spectrum can be made available for 3G.
“The next round of auctions should [also] only be conducted once there is sufficient spectrum available for mobile in all key spectrum bands, namely 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz,” Phillips said.
He added that the DoT should make an early statement regarding their timeline for making 700-MHz available for 4G.
“Governments around the world are increasingly cautious of setting high reserve prices, for example, the recent auction conducted by the Brazilian government failed to secure bidders for all the bands offered,” he said.
“It is widely accepted that high reserve prices do not lead to higher final auction receipts, but instead to market distortions that threaten the ability of bidders to invest in their network.”