According to the Ministry of Finance, telecom operators should be charged 9.75 per cent annual interest over 10 years on the installments to be paid for spectrum won in the forthcoming auction, say news reports.
Prior to this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested for its opinion on the rate of interest applicable on staggered payments by operators for 2G spectrum.
Telecom operators winning spectrum in the auctions will have to pay 33 per cent of the total bid amount upfront for GSM spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, and 25 per cent of the total bid amount for spectrum in the 800 MHz band. The remaining amount can be paid by the operators in ten equal installments, after a two-year moratorium.
Earlier, the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on spectrum, headed by P. Chidambaram, Minister of Finance, had allowed operators to mortgage spectrum as collateral to raise funds from banks. The EGoM also approved the staggered payment option for operators winning spectrum in the forthcoming 2G spectrum auction.
