Telecom operators who won the spectrum allocation auction in recent March 2015 are likely to receive the spectrum soon, reports Economic Times.
Last week, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued letter of intent (LoI) to players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio Infocomm, who won the auction in March. This fast pace action seen in closing allocations is viewed as Modi government’s efforts to become industry-friendly.
Such a swift action is necessary, as the operators will more need time to reconfigure the networks after receiving the airwaves, especially in a scenario to avoid coverage disruptions. The telecom operators also have hefty formalities to complete before the completion of process, including submission of bank guarantees, approving notice inviting applications (NIA) etc.
Earlier auction in February 2014 took almost 8 months to complete the process, and DoT was heavily ccriticisedfor the delay.
Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) expressed their anticipation for the process completion. "We hope early issue of LoIs will also translate in early assignment of the airwaves won in March,” said Rajan Mathews, Director-General, COAI.
Also read: "Pan India 2015 spectrum holding data sheet (updated)t
Bharti Airtel received spectrum allocation in 10 circles – 7 circles in 2,100MHz and 3 circles in 1,800 MHz. In the remaining 13 circles, airwaves will be allocated between December 2015 and April 2016.
