Boosting the interest of mobile operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, etc. TRAI has recommended steep cut in the reserve price of spectrum for the forthcoming auction.
The telecom regulator TRAI on Monday a pan-India reserve price of Rs 1496 crore per MHz in the 1800 band.
Reserve price for Delhi will be Rs 175 per MHz in the 1800 band; Rs 165 crore for Mumbai; Rs 59 crore for Kolkatta circles, TRAI said.
In the 900 MHz band, it recommended a reserve price of Rs 288 crore per MHz for Delhi, 262 crore for Mumbai and Rs 100 crore for Kolkata telecom circle.
The government is under pressure to lower auction reserve prices of mobile phone airwaves in different frequency bands after most carriers stayed away from bidding in the last two auctions, saying the prices were high.
( TRAI spectrum recommendations full text )
TRAI has shared reserve prices (per MHz) for 1800 MHz spectrum for 22 circles.
Delhi – Rs 175 crore
Mumbai – Rs 165 crore
Kolkata – Rs 59 crore
Andhra Pradesh – Rs 130 crore
Gujarat – Rs 115 crore
Karnataka – Rs 124 crore
Maharashtra – Rs 138 crore
Tamil Nadu – Rs 166 crore
Haryana – Rs 27 crore
Kerala – Rs 52 crore
Madhya Pradesh – Rs 43 crore
Punjab – Rs 54 crore
Rajasthan – Rs 26 crore
U. P. (East) – Rs 61 crore
U.P. (West) – Rs 62 crore
West Bengal – Rs 21 crore
Assam – Rs 7 crore
Bihar – Rs 37 crore
Himachal Pradesh – Rs 6 crore
Jammu & Kashmir – Rs 5 crore
North East – Rs 7 crore
Orissa – Rs 16 crore
Pan India – Rs 1496 crore
The TRAI reserve prices for 900MHz spectrum for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata
Delhi – Rs 288 crore
Mumbai – Rs 262 crore
Kolkata – Rs 100 crore
TRAI spectrum recommendations
TRAI said there should be no reservation of spectrum for the Renewal Licensees in 900 or 1800 MHz bands. The Authority also recommends that no priority should be accorded to these licensees in the bidding process and all bidders should be treated alike.
The telecom regulator said that, before the upcoming auction, the DoT should come out with a clear roadmap indicating the quantum of spectrum which will be available in future along with time-lines so that licensees whose licences are due for renewal in 2015/16 can take an informed decision about bidding for spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
It said for auction of spectrum in 1800 MHz band, the block size should be of 2 x 200 KHz each and the existing licensee will have to bid for a minimum of 3 blocks. A new entrant will be required to bid for a minimum of 25 blocks of 2 x 200 KHz each.
TRAI recommends that for auction of spectrum in 900 MHz band, the block size should be 2×1 MHz with the condition that each bidder will have to bid for a minimum of 5 blocks.
According to TRAI, eligibility conditions prescribed in the recently held auctions (November 2012 and March 2013) should be retained for the upcoming auction.
All CMTS/UASL/UL(AS)/UL providing access service should have the same set of roll-out obligations and the DoT should amend the licence conditions to incorporate the same.
All villages having population of more than 5000 should be covered within 5 years of effective date of allocation of spectrum for access services and all villages having population of more than 2000 to be covered within 7 years of effective date of allocation of spectrum, TRAI said on Monday.
These amendments should be made effective from 1 April 2014. However, in case of TSPs holding CMTS/UAS licences prior to the year 2008, the time period for completing these additional roll-out obligations shall be two years/four years from the effective date, while for TSPs acquiring licence post-2008 the time period shall be five years/seven years.
