What changes new Telecom Bill will bring

Officials said the Bill has provided a clear legal basis for spectrum allocation, which till now was allocated or auctioned by the government based on the interpretation of various laws and judgements. It has now been clearly laid out that spectrum will be auctioned, except for defined items in the First Schedule, ending the discretionary approach.

Subhayan Chakraborty reports.

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will now be able to better process requests for spectrum allotment from a long list of government agencies as the Telecom Bill has specified the sectoral uses for which such allocation is allowed, officials said on Thursday.

Apart from satellite communication, 18 other sectors from law enforcement and crime prevention to in-flight and maritime connectivity have been listed in the First Schedule of the Bill where administrative allocation will be mandatorily made.

In many of these areas, there was no clear process for allocating spectrum, which often led to a lengthy application and evaluation process and disputes.

The bill has also specified the government may amend the First Schedule to 'perform government functions' or 'serve public interest' or in cases where auction of spectrum is not the preferred mode of assignment due to technical or economic reasons.

Officials said the bill has provided a clear legal basis for spectrum allocation, which till now was allocated or auctioned by the government based on the interpretation of various laws and judgements.

It has now been clearly laid out that spectrum will be auctioned, except for defined items in the First Schedule, ending the discretionary approach.

“We would now be able to clear requests from many users, and especially government ministries and agencies expeditiously,” an official said.

Currently, spectrum has already been allocated by the government administratively in 4,700 instances. However, it has always been provided on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis.

To ease the process further, the government is expected to bring out a revamped National Frequency Allocation Plan as well, sources said.

The NFAP is a central policy that defines the roadmap for future spectrum usage by all national authorities, including the telecom and space departments and information and broadcasting and defence ministries.