ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka’s planned auctions for radio and television spectrum will apply to new ones and not frequencies of existing stations, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said.
“When auction we do not expect to apply it to existing institutions,” Rajapakasa told reporters.
“It will be for those coming in news. Those institutions will be pre-qualified before auction.”
Aspects such as national security and financial viability will be looked into, he said.
“What we are saying is, instead of just giving to our friends, which has mostly been the case,” he said.
“We think it is better for it to happen due to their abilities rather that our wants.”
Rajapaksa said 5G spectrum will also be auctioned.
There is an international drive to free existing TV spectrum for telecoms amid a progressive move from analogue to digital television. (Colombo/Nov17/2021)