TRAI backs sale of all available spectrum; proposes lower entry barriers, 35% cap

TRAI recommends auctioning all available spectrum with lower entry barriers and a uniform 35% cap to boost telecom competition.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday (February 24, 2026) recommended auctioning the entire available radiowave spectrum while proposing lower entry barriers for new players and a uniform 35% spectrum cap to safeguard competition in the telecom sector.

While TRAI has not officially disclosed the combined base price of the entire spectrum on offer, as per industry calculations, if all the spectrum on offer across bands (excluding 600 MHz) is sold, the radiowaves could fetch nearly ₹81,000 crore at the reserve price.

While urging the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to reclaim spectrum held by telecom companies undergoing insolvency, TRAI proposed halving the net worth criteria for new entrants from ₹100 crore to ₹50 crore per licensed service area (and from ₹50 crore to ₹25 crore for Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast) to encourage more participation.

All available spectrum, across nine frequency bands, should be put to auction in the forthcoming bidding, the telecom regulator recommended.

While the reserve or base price is lower than 2022 auctions for most LSA (Licensed Shared Access) and band combinations, in a few cases, it is higher than the previous sale.

Industry sources said the base price for Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast circles had been lowered compared to the previous auction. They also noted that, in line with norms, the reserve price for bands that remained unsold earlier had been fixed at 60% of the last discovered price.