New proposal

New Delhi, Oct. 19: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) may want to allot second-generation (2G) spectrum first to those operators who have initial start-up airwaves.

It is also unlikely to link the pricing of 2G radiowaves to third-generation (3G) spectrum, which were auctioned in May, sources said. The regulator plans to send the new recommendations to the department of telecom (DoT) by the end of this month.

Telecom minister A. Raja has set up a committee within the DoT to decide on 2G spectrum issues. The committee will study Trai’s proposals before sending them to the Telecom Commission — the policy-making arm of the DoT — and take a final decision.

“We are more or less coming to a closure with our work. I suppose they (proposals for the pricing and allocation of 2G spectrum) will be very shortly issued,” Trai chairman J.S. Sarma said today.

Sources said Trai was likely to propose that additional 2G spectrum be made available first to new entrants who already have 4.4 megahertz (Mhz) of start-up spectrum to help them operate efficiently. The existing operators holding less than 8MHz, will be the next in line.

“Operators who already have start-up spectrum need to be given another 1.8Mhz of radiowaves to reach the next tranche of 6.2Mhz according to licence conditions. With the shortage of 2G spectrum in most circles, this seems to be the optimum option for the government,” sources said.

The telecom ministry has banned the allocation of 2G spectrum till it finalises a mechanism for pricing this resource. With no fresh allocation in the past two years, there are over 100 applications from operators requesting for additional 2G airwaves.

“Pricing of 2G spectrum will, however, not be linked to the market value of high-speed 3G radiowaves as the issue is extremely controversial and contested by industry players,” sources said.