New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday suggested ₹ 11,485 crore per Mhz as pan-India base price for the premium 700 Mhz spectrum—the highest rate for any telecom frequency band—for the next round of auction even as leading operators have sought holding back sale of the radiowaves in this band.

Trai, for the first time, has suggested the base price for 700 MHz, which is considered as the most efficient frequencies for high-end mobile services. The regulator in its recommendations on spectrum price for seven bands, including 700 Mhz and 800 Mhz, released on Wednesday suggested a base price of ₹ 2,873 crore per MHz for pan-India 1800 MHz frequency band—widely known as the 2G spectrum. The suggested price of the 1800 MHz band is about 31% higher than the base price fixed by the government in the March 2015 auction.

The next round of auction is expected to be held in May-June this year. As per Trai’s paper, the cost of delivering mobile services in 700 Mhz band is approximately 70% lower than the 2100 Mhz band, which is widely used for 3G services. Leading operators had requested the regulator to defer sale of the 700 MHz spectrum, saying that the ecosystem for providing services in this band was not developed and sale would lead to underutilization of the spectrum for several years and block the industry’s crucial fund.

The telecom regulator, which had mooted an idea of removing band-wise spectrum holding limits in its draft paper, however, suggested no change in the existing rules. The regulator also recommended auction of all 3G spectrum available with the government at a marginally high rate of ₹ 3,746 per Mhz pan-India against ₹ 3,705 crore per MHz fixed by government for the same in the March 2015 auction. It also recommended auction of the 800 Mhz band, widely in demand for 4G services, at a base price of ₹ 5,829 per Mhz.

The new price is about 60% higher from the base price of ₹ 3,646 crore fixed in last auctions. Trai has suggested auction of 800 Mhz in 19 out of 22 telecom circles. Earlier, the government had fixed the highest base price at ₹ 3,980 per MHz for 900 spectrum band in the last auction.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via