New Delhi, June 19: The GSM lobby group COAI on Friday said the government should resolve the issues related to 2G spectrum before auctioning the radiowaves for the third generation mobile services.
The government should offer clarity on issues related to
2G spectrum before auctioning 3G spectrum as it could
seriously dampen investor interest and adversely affect the
revenues that would be raised by the government through the
auction process, COAI, which represents service providers such
as Bharti and Vodafone, said in a statement.
Cellular Operators` Association of India (COAI) was
reacting to a report that the Department of Telecom (DoT) has
decided to put on hold all allocations of second generation
(2G) spectrum to telcos.
"We submit that it is extremely important that there is
full clarity in the minds of the investors / bidders on the
Government’s 2G spectrum policy so that they are able to make
informed bids for 3G spectrum," COAI said in a letter to the
Telecom Minister A Raja.
"Any ambiguity /lack of clarity on issues related to 2G
spectrum, especially in the current business and economic
environment, could seriously dampen investor interest and
could adversely affect the revenues that would be raised by
the Government through the auction process," it added.
Under the 3G guidelines, the government prescribe for
auction of 3G spectrum in five MHz blocks and not more than
one block shall be allotted to a single bidder in a service
area.
Under these circumstances, it may be appreciated that 3G
would invariably be offered as an overlay on an existing 2G
network. Thus, 2G spectrum would be the foundation on which
the 3G services would be offered, COAI added.
It may be difficult to ensure a correct and fair response
to 3G auctions when the foundation layer of 2G spectrum is
unclear and undecided.
Bureau Report
