The Indian telecom operators had put in a request to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to refund the money for the spectrum they are surrendering. However, the DoT has rejected the request and said that it won't be possible. It is worth noting that the telecom department has scheduled a spectrum auction on June 6, 2024. Ahead of the auction, the telecom firms sought clarifications on the NIA (Notice Inviting Application).
According to an ET report, a DoT official has said that since telcos are not mandated to pay the entire spectrum amount upfront, whatever frequencies they want to surrender after 10 years, they can stop paying EMI for that.
Read More - DoT Reschedules Spectrum Auction to June 6
As per the current rules, the telcos can only surrender spectrum after 10 years of its acquired date. The NIA for the 2024 spectrum auction is similar to that of the 2022 auctions. Telcos requested the DoT to change this provision. They want to be able to get refunds for the spectrum they want to surrender. Otherwise, the telcos will never want to pay the amount upfront, whether it is the full amount or a part of it.
This time, the spectrum cap for the 5G airwaves has been increased. Some operators believe that it isn't the right way to go as this would serve as an opportunity for some telcos to hoard airwaves. However, the DoT said the reason it decided to increase the spectrum cap in 5G airwaves was because this time BSNL has also been allocated spectrum. It basically means that the spectrum assigned to BSNL has been accounted for and the remaining airwaves can be bid for by the private telcos.
Read More - Spectrum Auction 2024: DoT Excludes 700 MHz Frequency Band
It will be interesting to see if Airtel and Jio look to increase the spectrum in the 5G frequencies as the cap has been increased.
