Just few days back, global mobile operators' lobby group GSM Association had asked the new government for next round of 3G spectrum auctions in its upcoming telecom policy for the first 100 days. At present, the 3G spectrum in the 2100 band is allocated to a fraction for defence usage, while the rest is lying vacant. COAI said that it would be a "national waste" if these frequencies aren't put to use.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the GSM lobby group which includes operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, sought "partial allotment of 3G airwaves in the 2100 MHz band"

"Partial allotment will enable mixed use of 3G spectrum by reserving such bandwidth for defence in some geographies and putting it to commercial use elsewhere since the 2 x 40 MHz of 3G spectrum held by the armed forces is being used only in a few areas," says Cellular Operators Association of India, the lobby body representing GSM operators, in a letter to Prasad seen by ET, (The Economic Times, India's largest Economic daily).

But the defence ministry hasn't yet released the spectrum.

The GSM lobby body feels such partial allotment will help operators increase their 3G network capacity and offer superior mobile broadband coverage at affordable rates.