Telecom Lead India: TRAI’s recommendation on Spectrum is
unlikely to satisfy telecom operators in India.
Telecom Lead is presenting the reserve price and
availability of spectrum in each bands (please see table).
Interestingly, the Indian telecom regulator has suggested
Rs 14,488 crore for 700 MHz (for 4G LTE) which will be conducted in 2014.
Reserve price
1800 MHz spectrum: Rs 3,622 crore
800/900 MHz spectrum: Rs 7,244 crore
700 MHz spectrum: Rs 14,488 crore
2100 MHz spectrum: Rs 3,773 crore
2300 MHz spectrum: Rs 723 crore
Spectrum available
800 MHz band: 137 MHz
900 MHz band: 438.8 MHz
1800 MHz band: 629.4 MHz
2100 MHz band: 110 MHz
2300 MHz band: 290 MHz
The Authority recommends that mortgage of spectrum may be
allowed by spectrum holders to a registered Indian financial institution
against borrowings. The mortgage will be subject to the condition that in the
event of default of the liability, the spectrum shall be auctioned by the
financial institution under the supervision of the DOT and all proceeds in
excess of the liability shall be remitted to the Government.
As per a recent statement made by the Ministry of
Finance, the banking system already has an exposure of about Rs. 28,000 crore
to telecom companies for funding licence fee, infrastructure and roll out of 2G
services. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the overall exposure of
Indian banks to the telecom sector (2G, 3G and others) was almost Rs 91,000
crore until November 2011. Considering the level of investment required to
enable the Indian telecom sector to play its role fully in the socio-economic
development of the country, it is essential for the Indian Banking sector to
deepen its association with this sector.
