Trai may seek simultaneous 2G, 3G auctions

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is working towards resolving the 3G intra-circle roaming issue. Aware that operators have entered into such pacts as none of them has spectrum in all the 22 circles, the regulator is working to get at least three carriers of spectrum in the 2.1 GHz (3G band) vacated by the defence forces, by offering them the 1,900 MHz band in lieu of it.

Sources said Trai, which would be submitting its recommendations on the reserve price for 2G spectrum auctions, is also likely to suggest that the government conduct auctions for 3G spectrum simultaneously.

The 1,900 MHz spectrum is currently reserved for CDMA operators, who hold the 800 Mhz band, which the government wants to refarm. However, the auctions held in November 2012 and March 2013 show operators have no interest in CDMA spectrum and services. Thus, it is felt that there is no need to reserve any additional spectrum in the 1,900 Mhz band for CDMA operators.

Sources said the thinking in Trai is that around 7.5 Mhz of spectrum available in the 1,900 Mhz band can be offered to the defence forces for formation of the defence band and, in lieu of it, 15 Mhz of 2.1 Ghz spectrum can be taken from it. This would make available three carriers of 5 Mhz, which can then be put up for auctions. The advantage for defence in this scheme would be that through this swap, it would get 79 Mhz of contiguous spectrum, which it currently does not have, by holding two blocks of 7.5 Mhz in 2.1 Ghz band.

At a recent industry conference, Trai chairman Rahul Khullar had criticised the government's stance of opposing and penalising the 3G intra-circle roaming pacts entered into by GSM operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular. Khullar had said that if sufficient spectrum is not allocated to operators and such pacts are declared illegal, how would they offer services.

Though not directly, Trai had broadly hinted at such a possibility in its consultation paper floated on July 23, where it said that there were no takers for 800 Mhz spectrum. “In India, some of the operators are providing mobile cellular services using CDMA technology using the 800 Mhz band. Presently, there are 2-4 service providers (including PSUs) in each service area using this technology. Out of these service providers, all except one are also providing mobile services using the GSM technology. In view of the fact that the CDMA technology has been employed by comparatively very few operators the world over, the eco-system of CDMA has not developed as much as GSM technology. In India, too, it is seen that over the last few years, the number of CDMA subscribers is declining. The number of total CDMA subscribers has fallen from 105.11 million as on March 2012 to 73.78 million as on March 2013, i.e., there was shrinkage in the total subscriber base by around 30% in 2013. Revenues, minutes of usage and the subscriber count of every operator are continuously decreasing. In the recently held auctions in November 2012, spectrum in the 1800 Mhz and 800 Mhz bands were put to auction. Quashed licensees in the 800 Mhz band did not participate in the auctions. In fact, there was no bidder for the 800 Mhz band. The spectrum in this band was again put up for auction after slashing the reserve price by 50%. This time, only one operator (Sistema Shyam), whose licences in 20 circles were cancelled by the Supreme Court's verdict, took part in the auction. SSTL won 3.75 Mhz spectrum in each of the eight service areas where it participated in the bidding process”.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/2992-trai-may-seek-simultaneous-2g,-3g-auctions.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/2992-trai-may-seek-simultaneous-2g,-3g-auctions.html