Union Cabinet is likely to approve the long-awaited guidelines on spectrum trading and sharing by the end of the month that will pave way for merger and acquisitions in the telecom sector. Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg has stated that the spectrum sharing and trading guidelines have almost been finalized and Cabinet note has been circulated. He also highlighted that Spectrum sharing guidelines will allow telecom companies to share their un-utilized airwaves with other service providers in the same telecom circle.
The spectrum trading and sharing guidelines were approved by the Telecom Commission in early June, awaiting notification from the cabinet. Though, technically the matter does not require the Cabinet’s nod since the Telecom Commission itself is an inter-ministerial body, the latter still has decided to seek its approval.
Earlier, in April, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had sought clarifications from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) about spectrum-sharing and trading guidelines. TRAI had reiterated its stand on most of the recommendations on spectrum-sharing and trading guidelines, while clarifying that radio waves acquired through trading can also be shared. The regulator also stood by recommendations of allowing operators to share all spectrum including 3G. It also recommended allowing the trading of spectrum.
Up to now, the government only is allowed to allocate spectrum to telecom firms through auctions. Once trading is allowed, it is expected to increase efficient use of radiowaves by enabling telecom operators, who have a lower subscriber base or unutilized spectrum, to trade in it. Once into effect, trading would be beneficial for the bigger operators as it would lead to targeted merger and acquisitions.
