The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has stated that the unallocated telecom spectrum should also be counted while determining limit of spectrum held by an operator. This comes after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought TRAI’s opinion on a reply sought by the Supreme Court in a matter related to a telecom operator that participated in the March 2015 spectrum auctions.

According to TRAI, any spectrum which was put to auction but remains unsold, spectrum which was assigned but subsequently surrendered by the telecom service provider or taken by back by DoT and spectrum put to auction should be counted.

Meanwhile, TRAI has reiterated its stand that there is no need to modify the existing spectrum limit. The limit of spectrum a telecom operators can hold for providing wireless service, is 50 per cent in a spectrum band identified fit for providing mobile services and 25 per cent of the total such spectrum assigned in a telecom circle.