NEW DELHI: Leading telecom operators like Airtel and Idea have asked regulator Trai not to auction the premium 700 Mhz band until enough devices are available for services that are to be provided through it.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, which is yet to launch its 4G services, has also suggested two-year evaluation of the ecosystem before radiowaves in this band are auctioned.
“It will be prudent to not auction the spectrum in 700 Mhz band now. A recommended approach would be to do an ecosystem evaluation in two years’ time and plan the auctions accordingly,” Reliance Jio Infocomm said in reply to Trai’s consultation paper on value of spectrum for the next round of spectrum auction.
As per a paper of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the cost of delivering mobile services in 700 Mhz band is approximately 70 per cent cheaper than 2100 Mhz band.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel said: “Any immediate auction of the spectrum in 700 Mhz band will lead to underutilisation of the spectrum for several years and block industry’s fund” and therefore it should be auctioned “only after development of a strong device ecosystem”.
Vodafone said that while the ecosystem in this band is developing, “necessary caution may be exercised in respect of the terms of auction, including valuation, reserve price, rollout obligations, etc”.
Two telecom operators – Telenor and Tata Teleservices – have, on the other hand, have favoured the auction of spectrum in 700 Mhz band.
Telenor said the device ecosystem for APT700 Band 28 is developing at a good pace and 214 devices are already available in this band globally.
“Assuming that the auctions are concluded in first quarter or second quarter of 2016 and the allocations of spectrum happens by third or fourth quarter of 2016, telecom service providers (TSPs) in India will be ready with their 700 MHz networks by mid 2017 and there will be big momentum in APT700 eco system by that time,” Telenor said.
Reliance Communications suggested that the 700 MHz price should be calculated by indexing the last auction determined price of 800 MHz and then levying a 25 per cent premium over and above the price arrived at after indexation.
A divide among telecom operators was also seen with respect to new spectrum holding limit rule proposed by the regulator.(AGENCIES)
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