The India government has confirmed the major elements of its new telecom policy, local media report from a press conference in New Delhi. Some parts of it will take effect immediately, and the full policies will be announced by the start of the next fiscal year in April, pending consultations underway at telecoms regulator Trai. After the scandal surrounding spectrum awards under the previous government, the new policy will see radio frequency rights issued separately from operator licences. Spectrum will be awarded based on auctions aimed at finding a market price for the frequencies, rather than offered on a first come, first serve basis with operator licences. Mobile operators will be limited to an initial 2x8 MHz (paired spectrum) for GSM technology for all service areas other than Delhi and Mumbai, where it will be 2x10 MHz. That's up from a current limit of 6.2MHz of GSM spectrum. Operators currently holding more than that may be subject to a one-time fee to the government, which will be determined later based on the prices achieved in the upcoming auction of 2G licences. They may also be asked to surrender excess spectrum for redistribution when their current licences expire. Operators will be allowed to acquire additional spectrum beyond the new limits through auctions, as long as they do not hold more than 25 percent of frequencies in a given region. In addition, the government approved plans to allow operators to share spectrum within a circle. However, they would both have to pay fees on the combined spectrum rights and 3G sharing would not be allowed. The government also agreed on a uniform licence fee for all operators of 8 percent of adjusted gross annual revenue, versus the current system of 6-8 percent depending on the services and region. This is part of a move to a unified licensing system for all services. In addition, the government lowered the market share cap on telecom mergers and acquisitions to 35 percent, from 40 percent previously, but said it would consider a recommendation from regulator Trai to look at deals with a share of up to 60 percent.
