EGoM on telecom to decide on one-time spectrum fee issue

03 Oct 2012 Evaluate

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on telecom headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram is likely to meet today and take a decision on the one-time spectrum fee issue. It has been reported that the issue of re-farming of radio waves will also come up for discussion at the EGoM.

While, the incumbent operators had been allocated spectrum beyond the contractual limit of 6.2 MHz without any additional charges by the government, much of the spectrum to be vacated by the telecom companies that lost their licences following a Supreme Court verdict will be reserved for re-farming radio waves in the 900 Mhz band. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) intends to take back the spectrum allocated to telcos in this band and replace it with airwaves in the 1,800 Mhz band at the time of renewal of licences, mainly, to auction it again.

The EGoM will also be discussing the issue of including additional blocks in its notice inviting application (NIA). Earlier, EGoM had decided to provide 8 blocks of 1.25 Mhz each for auction in this band and three additional blocks when required in some circles, after reserving spectrum for re-farming or reallocating them to companies at the time of their licences renewal. However, DoT in its NIA on September 28 has increased the number of spectrum blocks in 1800 Mhz band for auctions by three, except in Delhi and Mumbai circles.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×