British
telecom giant Vodafone on Tuesday said that the government's plans to
auction limited spectrum in February is "disappointing and frustrating"
and will shake investor confidence in the Indian government.
The company, which is India's second-biggest operator behind Bharti Airtel, said that spectrum crunch is hampering business growth and impacting new investments at a time when data is growing rapidly and subscriber base is getting fatter. "Even regulator Trai has recommended that fresh auctions should take place only when there is enough spectrum. With limited amount of spectrum on sale, the scenario is disappointing and frustrating for operators," Vodafone India MD & CEO Marten Pieters said. "It will be wrong to have an auction with inadequate spectrum and will be quite a disaster for operators." While Trai had made a pitch for a mega sale of mobile spectrum, including that used for the high-speed 3G and 4G services, the Department of Telecom as well as the inter-ministerial Telecom Commission are not too enthused about the idea, especially when defence is yet to vacate 3G spectrum.
The government has lined up sale of 184 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band (all vacated after expiry of licences) and 104 MHz in the 1800 MHz frequency for the next round.
The company, which is India's second-biggest operator behind Bharti Airtel, said that spectrum crunch is hampering business growth and impacting new investments at a time when data is growing rapidly and subscriber base is getting fatter. "Even regulator Trai has recommended that fresh auctions should take place only when there is enough spectrum. With limited amount of spectrum on sale, the scenario is disappointing and frustrating for operators," Vodafone India MD & CEO Marten Pieters said. "It will be wrong to have an auction with inadequate spectrum and will be quite a disaster for operators." While Trai had made a pitch for a mega sale of mobile spectrum, including that used for the high-speed 3G and 4G services, the Department of Telecom as well as the inter-ministerial Telecom Commission are not too enthused about the idea, especially when defence is yet to vacate 3G spectrum.
The government has lined up sale of 184 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band (all vacated after expiry of licences) and 104 MHz in the 1800 MHz frequency for the next round.
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