Union Cabinet Approves Telecom Spectrum Auction

• 09 Feb 2024

On 8^th February, 2024, the Union Cabinet sanctioned the auction of telecom spectrum this year, encompassing airwaves across various bands with a cumulative reserve price of Rs 96,317.65 crore.

• The spectrum spans frequencies from 800 MHz to 3,300 MHz, including the 26 GHz bands. Telecom companies participating in the auction will bid with the reserve pricing as the minimum price for acquiring the spectrum.

Key Points

• Spectrum Bands: The spectrum to be auctioned includes frequencies in the 800, 900, 1,800, 2,100, 2,300, 2,500, and 3,300 MHz bands, along with the 26 GHz band.
• Reserve Pricing: The reserve price represents the minimum amount telecom companies must pay to acquire the spectrum through bidding.
• Expiring Airwaves: Airwaves expiring and belonging to certain companies undergoing insolvency will also be auctioned. If sold, the spectrum will be valid for a 20-year period.
• Railway Spectrum Deployment: Spectrum has been approved for use by railways for deploying Kavach, an automatic train protection (ATP) system aimed at preventing accidents in the rail network. A 5 MHz band in the 700 MHz spectrum will be allocated to multiple regional and urban rail-based transit systems.
• Refarming Committee: A committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary has been established to decide on the issue of "refarming" spectrum. Refarming involves re-designating bands of spectrum reserved for specific use cases to other purposes.