Zee Media BureauNew Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the much-awaited spectrum trading norms for telecom companies, so that this scarce resource can be put to optimal use, Communications and IT Minsiter Ravi Shankar Prasad said here.
"We have approved the spectrum trading norms today. Now the telecom companies can trade spectrum among themselves. For this they need not take any government permission," he said in a briefing after the Cabinet gave a nod to the proposal.
"The telecom companies only need to inform the government 45 days in advance before trading and they have to give an undertaking," the minister added. Prasad said trading will also resolve the problem of fragmented spectrum holding in India.
Under the guidelines, mobile carriers can buy or lend unused airwaves from rivals, making it potentially easier for companies like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India to meet surging demand in the country`s phone and data usage.
The number of smartphone users in India stood at around 140 million in 2014. It is expected to reach 651 million by 2019, according to a study by Cisco.
Terming the decision as a "revolutionary step", Prasad said: "Spectrum trading has been permitted in all the bands."
Almost a month ago, the government approved spectrum sharing guidelines, which are expected to address the issue of mobile phone call drops and the quality of services as also optimise the use of radio frequency spectrum for telecom services.
The TRAI in mid-June had sent its recommendations on sharing of airwaves to the Telecom Commission.
While the operators hailed it, they did not appreciate the idea of a fee proposed on such sharing. The operators felt that the government, having already raised massive sums of money by way of auction of spectrum, should not levy additional fee.
With Agency Inputs
First Published: Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 14:30