The TRAI has decided to recommend the auction route for allocation of spectrum for Mobile TV services in India, reports the Economic Times. To me, this appears to be another instance of the TRAI leaning towards Reliance Communications - in the comments submitted by stakeholders, Reliance had pushed for auction, while most others had preferred that spectrum be allocated on the basis of usage (which is cheaper). I wonder if this decision to auction has been influenced by the Prime Minister’s recent comment that the government must maximise revenue from allocation of scarce resources like spectrum, clearly hinting at an auction as a preferred route of allocation.

The auction will be done through a ‘controlled ascending’ process, on which ET has details here. Unlike in case of 3G spectrum allocation, no base price has been set, but that is immaterial given that more competing stakeholders - both telcos and broadcasters - are involved in the battle over Mobile TV. Thankfully, the TRAI is remaining technology neutral, and hasn’t backed either Media FLO or DVB. Do read our earlier analysis of issues around Mobile TV in India: here and here.