The Telecom Commission (TC) wants more slots of spectrum to be auctioned. The Commission has decided to make available at least 10 Mhz of 2G spectrum for auction.
This is double of what the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had proposed. The Telecom Commission has also suggested that in case Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is able to get more spectrum vacated from the defence forces then even that can be put up for auction.
Availability and auction of additional spectrum will increases chances of winning at least a few slots by the new players.
The TC, however, is yet to take a decision on the base price for the auction. The TRAI had suggested Rs 180 billion for 5 Mhz of spectrum, an internal committee of the DoT has proposed to hike it further by 17 per cent. However, the TC is looking at a reserve price in the range of Rs 70 to 80 billion.
The TRAI has also suggested a high reserve price with the condition that auction winners be allowed to pay the winning bid amount over a 10-year period. The TC is scheduled to meet on May 27, 2012 to take a final view on the issue.
Once the Commission takes a view on these issues, it will be sent to the Empowered Group of Ministers for a final policy decision.
