The Telecommunications Act, 2023 and how spectrum is assigned

Prelims and MainsCurrent affairs on this: Telecom networks, spectrum and internet infrastructure

Spectrum is the range of radio frequencies, a public resource the government assigns to mobile operators, broadcasters, satellite services, defence and railways. Since the Supreme Court's 2G judgment of 2012, which cancelled 122 licences and held that a scarce natural resource must be allotted fairly, mobile spectrum is sold by auction. The Telecommunications Act, 2023 replaced the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 and the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933. It keeps auction as the rule but lists, in its First Schedule, the uses for which the Centre may assign spectrum administratively without an auction, satellite communication among them, which is what let satellite internet operators be licensed without bidding. It replaces licences with authorisations, gives the Centre powers to take over networks and intercept messages, creates a right of way regime for cables and towers, and renames the Universal Service Obligation Fund the Digital Bharat Nidhi.

Auction against administrative assignment

	Auction	Administrative assignment
Used for	terrestrial mobile spectrum	First Schedule uses: satellite services, defence, railways, public broadcasting, disaster, research and others
Who decides	DoT, on TRAI's reserve price advice	the Centre by rule, at an administratively set price
Why	the 2G judgment: scarce resource, fair allocation, revenue	shared or non exclusive use where exclusivity makes no sense
Effect on the operator	exclusive rights for 20 years; heavy upfront cost	a fee and conditions; no exclusivity
The 2023 debate	terrestrial operators wanted satellite spectrum auctioned	satellite operators won administrative assignment

Auction is for spectrum one user must hold exclusively; assignment is for spectrum many share; the Act draws the line in its First Schedule.Source: Telecommunications Act, 2023; the 2G judgment of 2012

The institutions: the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) assigns spectrum and grants authorisations; the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), under the TRAI Act of 1997, recommends on pricing and policy and regulates tariffs and quality; the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal hears appeals.
Why auctions: they price a scarce resource and remove discretion, but they load operators with debt, which is one cause of the adjusted gross revenue crisis of 2019 and the exit of most private operators, leaving three.
Why administrative assignment for satellites: a satellite beam covers the whole country and is shared among operators, so exclusive auctioned blocks make no sense; the operators that fought over this were the terrestrial ones who feared cheaper competition.
Bands and generations: the 700 MHz band for coverage, 3.3 to 3.6 GHz as the main 5G band, 26 GHz millimetre wave for capacity; 5G India rolled out from 2022, and 6G research is the next stated goal.
Criticism of the Act: interception and shutdown powers without independent oversight, the breadth of the definition of telecommunication, which could reach internet applications, and the Digital Bharat Nidhi's use for purposes beyond rural connectivity.

Mains: The 2023 Act settles a decade old question, auction or assignment, by answering "it depends on the use", and the satellite exception shows the principle: exclusivity, not scarcity, is what justifies an auction.

Further reading: The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 (PRS India)