The Department of Telecom (DoT) has posted a notice on its website announcing guidelines for the upcoming 2G spectrum auction, however, it has not announced the minimum bidding price for the auction. According to the guidelines, spectrum in 1800 Mhz (GSM) and 800 Mhz (CDMA) would be allocated in the upcoming auction. Following the verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the Supreme Court had cancelled 122 licenses of 22 operators, and had asked the government to conduct fresh auctions. The Supreme Court had extended the deadline for the auction of 2G licenses which were cancelled by it, from June to 31st August 2012, and has asked telcos whose licenses were cancelled to continue services till 7th September. The government has not been able to come up with the base price for the auctions. Some of the highlights from the guidelines: - Eligibility: Interestingly, existing license holders (Mobile telephony/ Universal Service Access) or any entity that fulfills eligibility for obtaining a unified license qualifies to participate in the auction, along with licensees whose license were cancelled following the Supreme Court verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. However, the latter will be treated at par with new applicants. - Amount of spectrum & Number of Blocks: In GSM band: The government intends to auction 8 blocks each of 1.25 MHz (Total 10 MHz) in the 1800 MHZ GSM spectrum band. In addition to these, the government might auction 3 additional blocks of 1.25 MHz each in the same band to meet…
