Indian Government Close to Releasing Withheld 2G Spectrum

India's Department of Telecom (DoT) has given an in principle clearance for Idea Cellular, Vodafone Essar and Aircel to be granted the outstanding 2G spectrum where they currently hold licences, a DoT source told The Economic Times. Currently the operators all hold licenses in some circles, but have not been able to launch their services until the spectrum was released to them.

"These players already hold licences. Second generation spectrum is now available with the DoT. We have given an in principle approval for allotting these companies 4.4 MHz of start-up GSM spectrum for launching services. It is just a matter of time, before the radio frequencies are allotted to them in these circles," the official told the newspaper.

If the spectrum is released as expected, then Idea Cellular will be able to expand its coverage from 11 circles to 13 while both Vodafone and Aircel will be able to offer nationwide coverage.

Idea currently has unused licenses in Mumbai and Bihar. Vodafone has extra licenses covering Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, North East, J&K and Orissa. Aircel is waiting for spectrum in Kolkata, Haryana, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, UP (both East and West circles), Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajastan circles.

On the web: Economic Times

Posted to the site on 13th December 2007