Mobile tariffs may increase after the Telecom Commission’s decision to refarm all spectrum in the 900 MHz band when the licences come up for renewal. Holders of this bandwidth will need to participate in a fresh auction to retain the spectrum. The Telecom Commission chose to go with the recommendation on refarming made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai, the telecom regulator) and as well as DoT's internal committee.
The decision will now be taken up by an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM).
The refarming will impact bigger telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL because it involves the redistribution of the 900 MHz airwaves and substituting it with frequencies in the 1,800 MHz. The telcos unsuccessful in winning back spectrum through the auction will need to shift to the 1,800 MHz band.
The first renewal is scheduled for November 2014. The government will hold an auction 18 to 24 months before the renewal of licence.
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The decision will now be taken up by an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM).
The refarming will impact bigger telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL because it involves the redistribution of the 900 MHz airwaves and substituting it with frequencies in the 1,800 MHz. The telcos unsuccessful in winning back spectrum through the auction will need to shift to the 1,800 MHz band.
The first renewal is scheduled for November 2014. The government will hold an auction 18 to 24 months before the renewal of licence.
Read More . . . .