In the past, a lot has been said and written about this topic. Therefore, in this attempt, instead of taking a conventional approach, I will like to adopt a different approach. The strategy that I plan to use here is to evaluate the situation not only from the fundamentals of “regulatory principles of best practices”, but also from what we have experienced in the past. The whole idea of taking this approach is that the readers will clearly see through the logic as we discuss these in detail. Hence without wasting any more time let’s begin.
The Basic Principle
We auction spectrum because by doing so many regulatory objectives are fulfilled simultaneously. a) It ensures transparency in the assignment process (in the face of high demand) and prevents regulatory arbitrage (we experienced it in 2008 which led to the 2G Scam). b) It ensures optimal use of the resource without much wastage. c) It filters out non-serious players, who can block it and prevent others from using it — not good for the country and its consumers.
