The Department of Telecom (DoT) has kept an open mind on the timing of the next round of spectrum auction and will await regulator Trai's report before firming its views, says a top government official.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had held an extensive dialogue last week on spectrum auctions with telcos, most of whom are opposed to auctions being conducted in the prevailing scenario given industry's financial stress, accentuated by falling profits and high levies.
The sectoral regulator's ongoing consultation with the industry was important as it will give an idea about the extent of demand for the radiowaves, the most sought-after bands and the number of players willing to actually take part in the auctions, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said.
“We will wait for Trai. We will go by their recommendations because they will be able to tell us, after interacting with the industry, whether people want more spectrum, which band, how much spectrum, how many players will be willing to participate in auction. So, we will have to wait for Trai's feedback,” she said.
The telecom department has “kept an open mind on the issue”, Sundararajan said but added that the understanding is that industry is not ready for auctions this year.
last week, after an industry-wide open house consultation, Trai Chairman RS Sharma had said the regulator will give its recommendations “as soon as possible”.
The sectoral watchdog has, however, not indicated a time-frame in which it will send its final views on the matter to the DoT.