The telecom commission has recommended auctioning a minimum of 10 mhz of spectrum on auction in eight slots for the 2G airwaves, out of which four should be reserved for new entrants.

Industry regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended auctioning only five mhz in the 2G auctions. The auctions, which are be held by August as per a Supreme Court order, will be hotly contested by the telecom companies.

The Telecom Commission had earlier asked TRAI about why a large part of spectrum that is available should not be sold to telecom service providers and be kept idle as planned. The panel has asked the regulator to explain why the recommendations include different timing for re-farming spectrum in 900 Mhz band and 800 Mhz band.

TRAI proposal suggests selling only of 5 Mhz spectrum immediately and keeping a huge chunk of the total 1,800 Mhz band for re-farming. The limit placed would introduce a capacity crunch as 7 to 8 telecom service providers are interested in acquiring spectrum.

The commission has backed TRAI’s recommendations to liberalize spectrum use allowing users to use any technology on their spectrum.