CDMA players approach the government to lower the base price for spectrum in the 800 MHz band

CDMA players have approached the government to lower the reserve price of spectrum to be auctioned in the 800 MHz band and keep it at 65 per cent of the base price of the spectrum auctioned in the 1800 MHz band in the February 2014 auction.

Operators including Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices Limited and Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited have also requested the government to immediately auction the entire spectrum amount in the 800 MHz band without waiting for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to surrender the CDMA spectrum held by them.

Based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the pan-India reserve price of Rs 26.85 billion per block is 52 per cent higher than the reserve price set by TRAI for the spectrum auctioned in the 1800 MHz band. Further, the reserve price is also 47.5 per cent higher than the reserve price of Rs 18.2 billion for the CDMA spectrum auctioned in the previous round of auction held in March 2013.