JOIN USTelecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said the government will take a final decision on reallocation of spectrum before 2G auction.
"Absolutely, before the auction starts," Sibal said on the sidelines of an Airtel event, when asked if the decision on spectrum refarming will be taken before the beginning of the auction on November 12.
The Supreme Court, which had earlier cancelled 122 licences in the 2G spectrum allocation case, has directed the government to complete the auction process by January 11, 2013.
The Telecom Commission, an inter-ministerial body at the Department of Telecom, has decided that existing mobile operators will have to fully vacate airwaves in the 900 MHz band at the time of license renewal in 2014 -- a move that GSM players say would cost them over Rs 66,000 crore in replacing infrastructure.