Vodafone India seeks public auction of cancelled 2G spectrum

Vodafone India, the Indian subsidiary of UK-based Vodafone group, has sought a public auction of 2G spectrum held by 122 licenses that were cancelled by the Supreme Court order.

Kickstarting a sharp but expected divide among the old and new players fighting for the scarce resource, Vodafone said all operators and potential new entrants should be allowed to participate in the auction.

"This will ensure the most efficient allocation of the spectrum and is necessary to discover a fair market price," it said in a response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) pre-consultation paper on 2G spectrum allocations by auctions.

The auction should not be restricted only to those eight companies, whose licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court, Vodafone said, adding that many companies have been deprived of spectrum since 2006.

"It would not be logical to limit the auction only to the spectrum which was allocated in 2008, and only amongst the parties which acquired the spectrum in 2008. In that case, virtually by definition, the supply of spectrum would be equal to or less than the demand for  the spectrum. Such artificial restriction would lead to an outcome no different from an administered price regime," it said.

The Indian government had opted for a public auction of 3G spectrum in 2010 and raised Rs 67,700 crore via auction of radio waves for the third generation services.