Telcos can’t pay through the nose for spectrum: NITI Aayog official

Telecom operators need to be financially sound to build up infrastructure and there is a need to review the auction architecture as they cannot pay high prices for spectrum, a senior Niti Aayog official said Wednesday.

“We need telcos also to be financially sound. They cannot pay through the nose for spectrum auction. Again, it is not an area of my expertise but my personal view is that we need to relook at the whole auction architecture, not only in spectrum but also in mining and other areas,” Niti Aayog Special Secretary Yaduvendra Mathur said at Broadband India Forum (BIF) event here.

He said the government wants access to real time data in decision making which can be done by installing IoT (internet of things) devices supported by public wi-fi.