Telecom Spectrum Auction

Vodafone Idea failed to meet the March 10 deadline to clear its 2015 spectrum dues, risking government action, while also facing a Rs 16.73 crore GST demand notice from tax authorities

In a boost to Elon Musk's Starlink, Communications Minister Scindia has said the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated and not auctioned as sought by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. The satellite broadband spectrum will however be not given free and sector regulator Trai will fix a price for the resource, he told PTI in a text and video interview. "Every country has to follow the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is the organisation that lays out the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear in terms of the spectrum being given out on an assignment basis. In addition, if you look across the world today, I cannot think of a single country that auctions spectrum for satellite," Scindia said. India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency for digital technology. Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation. While ..

Narendra Modi-led government faces task of luring foreign investment especially from heavyweights like Musk and balancing it with the demands placed by local wireless firms led by Ambani and Mittal

Telecom regulator will begin, in a month, the consultation process for deciding the terms, conditions and other modalities for administrative allocation of spectrum for satellite-based telecom services. India's satellite communications sector is "flourishing" and has the potential to propel the country to new heights, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said at 'India SatCom 2024' organised by Broadband India Forum (BIF). "Regarding the spectrum requirement of space-based communications, the Telecom Act has provision for assignment of spectrum through administrative process for certain satellite-based communications services. Government has sent a reference seeking recommendations of TRAI on terms and conditions for spectrum assignment to certain satellite-based telecom services," Lahoti said. TRAI will soon come out with a consultation paper on the matter. "We have received a reference from the government...it should take about a month's time to issue the consultation paper... you can

The spectrum auction saw the government receive Rs 11,300 crore in bids over seven rounds, with Airtel emerging as the largest overall bidder

This is the second rescheduling of the auction, after it was pushed back from May 20 to June 6

It has not sought permission for administratively allocating spectrum, say sources

The upcoming spectrum auction will start from May 20, according to the notice inviting application released by the Department of Telecom on Friday. Government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of Rs 96,317.65 crore. Spectrum which is held by certain companies undergoing insolvency processes as well as frequencies expiring this year will also be put on auction.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved auctions in eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of Rs 96,317.65 crore. Spectrum, held by certain companies undergoing insolvency process, that are expiring this year, will also be put on auction. "All the available spectrum in 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands will be put on auction. "As recommended by TRAI, the reserve prices for various bands have been revised using suitable indexation," an official statement said. The reserve price will be Rs 96,317.65 crore.

5G spectrum: Centre is looking for ways to shift some broadcasting and satellite players from 3.8 GHz to higher frequency

PM Modi recently said that India is planning to launch 6G services by the end of this decade. But are we ready? While the 5G launch still looks like a distant dream, this report does a reality check

In a market of 1.3 billion with only about a half having access to mobile broadband, the untapped user base still holds much promise

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

Telecom auction fails price discovery test

DoT may garner Rs 20,000 crore as upfront payment in FY21

Revenue garnered from 4G auction may be much lower than reserve price set at Rs 3.92 trillion

The premium band is considered ideal for internal coverage but went unsold in the 2016 auctions. TRAI in its recommendations in August 2018 reduced the price by 40%

The auctions are slated to be held in March 2021 and the notice inviting applications is expected by the end of this month

The Centre has budgeted Rs 1.33 trillion as non-tax receipts from the telecom sector for FY2021

Clearly the government is pinning its hope very highly on the mega success of the spectrum auction