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India ‘needs 400 days’ for new 2G auction
21 February 2012
Indian government ‘will fail to meet four-month deadline’ to re-auction 122 cancelled spectrum licences
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The Indian Department of Telecommunications said it will take more than 13 months to complete its new round of 2G auctions after 122 licences were cancelled. The timescale means the DoT will fail to meet the Supreme Court’s four-month deadline for awarding spectrum and licences in place of the 122 cancelled permits, reported the Economic Times.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India is supposed to put forward its recommendations on the 2G auctions within the coming 60 days. The department said it would need 95 days to evaluate TRAI’s proposals, finalise the reserve price for bandwidth sale, and get approvals from the concerned ministers. Following this, 245 more days will be required to complete the auction process.
A senior DoT official said in a presentation to the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers that the 3G auction process was completed in 688 days, and the 2G bandwidth sale would be carried out in around 400 days.
The DoT expects to make 624.60 megahertz of 2G spectrum available, which could rise to 923.80 megahertz after the defence forces vacate bandwidth.
According to the report, the DoT will seek approval from the Supreme Court for extension of the deadline to complete the auction. GTB
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New 2G auction after India cancels licences 02 Feb 2012
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NSN to manage Airtel 3G network in India 20 Jan 2012
NTT DoCoMo considers raising India stake 15 Dec 2011