New Delhi: Existing telecom players bidding in bands where they don't hold spectrum will be treated as new entrants in airwave auction slated for November, the Department of Telecommunications said on Tuesday.
"All existing Access Service licensees shall be treated as 'New Entrant' for the bidding in those frequency bands in which they do not hold spectrum at present in that particular service area," DoT said in a response to queries that were raised related spectrum auction due in November.
In India, telecom operators currently use 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz band frequencies for providing GSM technology based 2G services and 800 Mhz band for CDMA technology based wireless telecom services.
The DoT has scheduled the auction of airwaves frequencies in 1800 Mhz and 800 Mhz band for wireless telecom services in November.
The Department has further clarified that companies providing GSM technology will be treated as existing players if they bid for another spectrum band being used for GSM services.
"However, they shall be treated as 'Existing licensee' for the frequency band in which they hold the spectrum. For the limited purpose of this provision, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz will be treated as same band," DoT said.
PTI
