Myanmar's telecom ministry may need to delay a planned auction of 2600-MHz spectrum due to a conflict over whether the spectrum should be allocated before the regulatory framework is finalized.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has intended to auction 140MHz of 2600-MHz spectrum by the end of March.
But after industry consultations, the government has acknowledged that it may need to delay the process, the Myanmar Timesreported.
The consultations brought to light a conflict between those believing that the spectrum should be allocated as quickly as possible to ensure the nation's telecom operators have sufficient spectrum to meet demand, and those believing that a spectrum roadmap should be completed first to give greater clarity to the industry.
Both Telenor Myanmanr and Ooredoo Myanmar have expressed a belief that the spectrum roadmap should be released before the auction.
MCIT posts and telecom director U Than Htun Aung acknowledged that the ministry didn't expect such a range of conflicting views on the matter, and that the auction may need to be delayed as a result of the conflict.
The ministry had last indicated that it planned to conduct the auction on March 24.