| |JULY 20239TECH MINTThis week, the Department of Telecom is most likely to contact the industry's regulatory body Trai to request that a set of spectrum bands and radio waves owned by permits that are set to expire in 2024 be put up for auction.The auction is anticipated to take place in the current fiscal year's March quarter by DoT.In a few days, DoT is anticipated to send a reference to Trai for the auction of telecom licenses for the 37 GHz band and radio waves that are up for renewal in 2024.The auction of spectrum in the 600 megahertz band and the frequency that went unsold in the 2022 auction are likely to be mentioned in the reference.Despite offering spectrum in 10 bands, the government received no offers for the airwaves in the 600 MHz, 800 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands.More than a quarter of the demand came from the 700 Mhz band, which had not been purchased in either of the two prior auctions (in 2016 or 2021).Approximately two-thirds of the bids were for the 5G bands (3300 Mhz and 26 GHz).To be included in the auction scheduled for the March quarter, DoT anticipates Trai's recommendation of auction guidelines for the satellite communication spectrum to come soon.However, only one company involved in satellite communications has called for administrative spectrum distribution rather than going the auction route.The March quarter will see the auctioning of spectrum held by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea's licenses, some of which are due to expire in 2024.It is claimed that if Trai's recommendation is received by January, DoT will be allowed to execute the auction. DOT TO REQUEST TRAI FOR NEW SPECTRUM BANDSIt is claimed that if Trai's recommendation is received by January, DoT will be allowed to execute the auction
< Page 8 | Page 10 >