Telecom major Vodafone India has said the government should rethink plans to hold the next spectrum auction in February as operators could lose businesses in some of the circles.
Though the company will still bid for the spectrum if auctions are held but it may lose businesses in circles such as Goa-Maharashtra and Rajasthan, said Marten Pieters, managing director and chief executive officer, Vodafone India recently here.
With the government likely to put up fewer spectrum for sale, which is less than the required demand, some telecom firms have apprehended that this could lead to a situation wherein some of the existing players could end up not winning radio waves in areas where they currently operate.
Vodafone will go ahead and bid for the spectrum. Maharashtra and Goa are one of the circles where we have more than ₹3,000-crore business and you don’t let go that easily, Pieters said.
Telecom regulator Trai had also given a set of suggestions for auctioning spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz spectrum bands for the upcoming auction. The regulator also suggested that sufficient spectrum should be auctioned.
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