With sector under stress, spectrum auction may be pushed to next fiscal

The government on Tuesday has hinted that the telecom spectrum auction may be pushed to next financial year from the earlier estimated timeline of this financial year.

“It (auctions) will happen by March-April and the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) will meet on this,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, told reporters here. According to senior officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the department is awaiting Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations on the auctions, which are expected soon, and accordingly, the DCC will meet on December 20 to discuss the issues.