Recently certain news popped up about the 3 G auction been further delayed. Though it is not being confirmed by the DoT but the Telecom minister has clarified this issue during his interview. This possible delay has not gone well either with the stakeholder or with the policy makers. But an article in Economic Times possibly suggests that this delay might be a good opportunity for DoT to rethink its approach and to have a fresh look at  its existing policies on 3G spectrum auction. As DoT’s finance wing and wireless division, have pointed out as many as eight policy loopholes which requires immediate redress by the policy makers before auction.

Legal concerns have been the primary reason behind this delay as the law ministry has made it clear that there might be “serious legal challenges” in the bidding process if spectrum cannot be made available till September.  Reason behind this legal concern is the availability of spectrum as there has not been any commitment from the defense forces on vacation of spectrum within a particular time frame and in case of delay the operators have raised demands to compensate them for that delay.

Also the cherished ideals of “Technological Neutrality” have been ignored while framing policies. The concept of “Technological Neutrality” came into forefront during “Dual-Technology” case before TDSAT. Though the TDSAT judgment in this case has not been endorsed by the large section of media, stakeholders and practitioners as it further demarcated the divisions between CDMA and GSM technologies and the facilities available to them as there has been  allegation against DOT for introducing the “Dual Technology” principles for the benefit of companies like Reliance Communications and Tata Tele.

The TDSAT Judgment is based on certain assumptions that there is no difference between “Technological neutrality” and “Dual Technology” and the Government should further promote “Technological Neutrality” in the form of Dual Technology regulations. The concept of “Dual Technology” further facilitates the removal of technological and policy barrier between GSM and CDMA operators. Despite the presence of such cardinal principle, the cherished ideals of that principle have largely been ignored by DoT while framing polices regarding 3G Auction.  If the policy framework and institutional approach are analyzed thoroughly it can be alleged that the CDMA operators are favored over GSM operator as both 2G and 3G services are offered using the same airwaves or spectrum to the CDMA operators. While DoT has been clear in its approach that it will not give any favor to GSM operators during the proposed successive 2 G auctions as an incentive.

Then only   5 MHz… as all the stake holders have raised this question that the amount of spectrum allocated will not provide a viable business proposition. Moreover it will be too cumbersome for new entrant GSM operator to operate within the limit of 5 MHz. In a way DoT itself is flouting the principles of “Technological Neutrality” which it meticulous argued before TDSAt in Dual Spectrum case, which further challenges its legitimacy as an institution of governance.  Also the Government seems too eager to invite international participation but despite all its eagerness it has limited the participation for GSM space only.

Therefore despite Telecom Minister’s over willingness to engage in auction of spectrum as soon as possible it is still not clear what he wants. It is desirable not to have spectrum auction without revising the present framework.