Telcos ask govt to auction E&V spectrum bands instead of de-licensing them

Spectrum in E&V bands can be utilised for both high-capacity access spectrum for voice and data services as well as backhaul link spectrum.

Mobile service providers on Monday asked the Union government to allocate E&V bands of radiowaves via an auction process on an immediate basis instead of de-licensing them.

De-licensing of these bands will “tilt the level playing field” against licensed telecom service providers (TSPs) since they are burdened with various costs like spectrum acquisition, license fee, spectrum usage charge and right of way, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio are part of the association.

“With de-licensing of such important spectrum bands, mobile broadband backhaul would be severely constrained. In addition, neither the roll