Telecom Commission meet on spectrum sharing, trading rules today

NEW DELHI: The inter-ministerial panel of Telecom Commission (TC), the highest decision-making body of the Department of Telecom, will meet today to discuss spectrum sharing and trading guidelines, media reports said.

Media reports said quoting sources, “the panel is likely to send back the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations as the DoT and the regulator are not on the same page on certain aspects.”

"The Trai recommendations have been discussed and there are certain issues which need more information," a source said.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier reviewed the progress on spectrum sharing and trading guidelines.

He had instructed DoT officials to consider Trai’s recommendations and market potential of the telecom sector for preparing guidelines on spectrum sharing and trading. He had said that while framing the guidelines, the viability of the telecom sector should be kept in mind.
Spectrum sharing will help telcos to share the unutilised airwaves with their peers in the same telecom circle.

Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended sharing of all categories of telecom airwaves held by operators including spectrum allocated at an old price.