The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking at imposing penalties and taking back spectrum from 4G operators who have not met service rollout obligations.

According to a DoT proposal, broadband wireless access spectrum would be taken back from operators for non-fulfillment of rollout obligations. In addition, the department plans to seek Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s opinion on the issue before imposing stringent penalties on operators for their failure to meet 4G rollout obligations.

At present, a number of 4G spectrum holders such as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Aircel, Tikona Digital Networks and Augere are yet to launch 4G services in the country.

According to DoT, under the old licensing regime, operators faced technology-specific restrictions on offering certain services and hence 3G licence holders were restricted to providing 3G services in only circles where they acquired spectrum through auction. However, under the new unified licensing regime, the department is considering allowing operators to go ahead with 3G spectrum sharing since the new licensing regime allows operators to introduce technology-neutral services.