Kapil Sibal: Govt to auction 4G spectrum by year end

BARCELONA: India is looking at holding spectrum auctions for the fourth generation (4G) mobile services by the end

of this year, besides finalising plans to sell off radio waves for the 2G services, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal

has said.

"By the end of the year, we are actually going to auction 4G (spectrum). That is what our intent is. We have enough

spectrum now to share with everybody," he said at the India Day function organised by his ministry at the Mobile

World Congress here.

Sibal said the government will have enough radio waves for all operators after it is released from the defence

services as well as the cancellation of 122 2G new licences by the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum allocation

case.

Sibal added, however, that the government does not want to put all the spectrum for auction at one go but the final

decision will depend a lot on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).