The government on Wednesday approved telecom spectrum trading norms, allowing mobile operators to buy and sell unused spectrum from one another. What this means is call drops may end.  


Call drops have doubled in the last one year, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), and the figure is four times higher than the permissible limit. 



Presently, spectrum can be acquired only through the government conducted auctions. Spectrum trading would allow operators to trade their unutilised radio waves, resulting in efficient use of scarce resource and improved quality services to consumers.


Spectrum trading guidelines are a pre-requisite for consolidation in the sector as these will provide an exit route to struggling operators.

Telecom stocks soared on the Cabinet approval - Reliance Communication soared over 15 per cent, while Bharti Airtel and Idea shot up over 5 per cent.