Vodafone India and Bharti Airtel have challenged in a local court the telecom regulator’s decision to re-auction their 900MHz spectrum when their licences expire.
The 900MHz bandwidth, which is more efficient and better for metropolitan areas, will be…
Vodafone India and Bharti Airtel have challenged in a local court the telecom regulator’s decision to re-auction their 900MHz spectrum when their licences expire.
The 900MHz bandwidth, which is more efficient and better for metropolitan areas, will be put up for auction when the operators’ licences run out in November 2014, to be replaced with 1800MHz spectrum, according to media reports. The Indian government then hopes to gain a higher price for the 900MHz spectrum.
Despite the regulator’s ruling, Vodafone argues that it is entitled to a licence extension. “Vodafone believes that it is entitled to a fair and reasonable extension of its licence as per mutually agreeable terms,” the operator reportedly said in a statement yesterday.
Rival telco Bharti Airtel has also refuted the regulator’s decision. “Our decision to undertake this legal recourse is only aimed at protecting our legal and contractual right with regard to 900 MHz spectrum and ensuring business continuity,” said a Bharti spokesperson in the reports.
If the regulator’s decision is upheld, it will be costly for the operators to shift to another airwave band, especially as the 1800MHz frequency will require a larger number of towers to emit airwaves.
India’s telecoms industry is still struggling to rise from the ashes of the 2008 auction scandal, where licences were said to have been illegally granted. Since then, a 2G auction last November received a muted response and the government plans to hold yet another 2G auction next month.
