Bharti Airtel Chairman, Sunil Mittal has asked the government to auction four slots of 3G spectrum in all the circles in January next year. His request follows DoT’s Information Memorandum pointing lack of spectrum in Delhi, North East, Rajasthan and Gujarat till June 2010.
“The auction is expected to close in February and the operators would require a few months to roll out their networks, and therefore, even if there is a delay until June it will not be of any serious negative consequences,” said Mittal
Presently there are only 2 slots available in these circles except for Rajasthan and North East where no spectrum is available. Spectrum in these circles is expected only after the Defence vacate it for commercial use.
“I would like to point out that the auction of two slots for Delhi and Gujarat will create scarcity premium in these two circles, putting them at a disadvantage vis-a-vis other circles in the country. Why should a Delhi customer, or the operator, suffer the scarcity premium, compared with say Mumbai. I would like to urge that uniform four slots be auctioned all over the country,” added Mittal.
Mittal said that even if the Defence forces are not able to vacate spectrum before the auction, the DoT should conduct the auctions now of the slots with the remaining two slots to be given on their availability in June 2010.
“Rajasthan and North East, given their urgent development needs, will benefit from early 3G auctions,” he added. |