DoT Amends 3G and BWA Policy

In the wake of the debate triggered between various stakeholders (and Govt depts) after DoT announced the long-awaited 3G and BWA sepctrum policy, a number of changes have been announced.

With regards to 3G, the eligibility criteria has been strengthened by stipulating that a non-UASL entity aiming to bid for spectrum must have prior experience in running 3G services. Spectrum for EVDO will also be allocated via auctions thus reversing the earlier position of giving spectrum to CDMA operators based on subscriber criteria. The reserve price for 2x1.25 MHz in 800 MHz band has been set at 25% of the 3G reserve price (following the pro-rata calculation). Finally, the annual spectrum fee will not be calculated on the incremental revenue earner from 3G services. This is going to be a tricky one, separating revenue earned from 2G and 3G services. The formula for determining the incremental revenue will be specified later.

As for BWA services, CMTS licence holders are now also eligible to bid for spectrum. The spectrum in 2.3 and 2.5 GHz band will be allocated for TDD mode only. The reserve price has now been doubled, such that it becomes 50% of the 3G base price (for a paired 2x5 MHz block). The roll-out conditions have also been changed. Now, 90% of a metro service area must be covered within 5 years and 50% of rural SDCAs must be covered in Category A, B and C areas during the same period.

The full set of amendments are available on the DoT website.