Under an attempt to usher in the next generation telecom services in the country, the ministry has decided for an immediate release of third generation (3G) spectrum through an auction process, even as it has decided to introduce mobile number portability (MNP) by the end of the year.
"The government has decided to release 3G spectrum in 2.1 GHz band with immediate effect," Minister for Communications and Information Technology A Raja said.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital he said that the licenses would be provided through an auction mode, which will be also open to foreign players, "subject to security clearances".
The third generation or 3G spectrum enables network operators to provide advanced services like TV on mobile, faster data transfer, video telephony and videoconferencing on handheld devices among others. 3G is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards and at present there are over 100 3G networks operating in over 40 countries.
The government would levy a 0.5 per cent of the total adjusted gross revenue as spectrum charges on an annual basis, in addition to the one-time spectrum charges.
However, the minister did not provide any time frame for the releasing of spectrum, but reiterated that it would be "immediate". The minister, however, stated that also said that "trading and reselling" of spectrum would not be permitted and ruled out mergers and acquisitions among 3G operators for the first five-year period.
When contacted, the GSM operators' body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) Director-General TV Ramachandran said that the Government policy was at direct variation with the recommendations of TRAI which had recommended that 3G spectrum be given only to existing operators in slots of 5MHz each.
In a statement, he also said that the policy suffered from serious legal infirmities as it violated TRAI Act, viz. that if the Government did not agree with any recommendation of TRAI, it must mandatorily refer the same back to TRAI for its reconsideration and only after receiving the reconsidered view of TRAI could the Government take a final decision in the matter.
"It is bizarre that the government is proposing as many as 8-9 operators in every service area in the case of 2G, while seeking to introduce a near monopoly regime in 3G," he said.
Ramachandran also expressed concern at the reports that the bidding will only be done for the 2.1 GHz spectrum and that the CDMA operators would be allowed to acquire a 3G carrier in 800 MHz at a fixed price determined through the 3G auction.
The minister also announced the introduction of MNP – that enables users to change their service providers without changing their existing numbers – in the four metros by the end of the year.
The GSM operators' body, the Association of United Service Providers of India (AUSPI), has welcomed the decision to introduce MNP.
"This will benefit the customer to retain the same number while changing from one service provider to another at a reasonable cost. MNP is an important and effective tool for ensuring effective competition and improved Quality of Service in the mobile telecom service sector, which will ultimately benefit the subscribers at large," AUSPI said in a statement.
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