Press Trust of India
New Delhi, Jan 27: Regulator Trai Wednesday suggested Rs 11,485 crore per Mhz pan-India base price for 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. The telecom regulator 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 Wednesday suggested a base price of Rs 2,873 crore per MHz for pan-India 1800 MHz frequency band – widely known as 2G spectrum. The suggested price of 1800 MHz band is about 31 per cent higher than the base price fixed by the government in 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 per cent lower than 2100 Mhz band, which is widely used for 3G services. Leading operators had requested the regulator to defer sale of 700 MHz spectrum, saying that ecosystem for providing services in this band was not developed and sale would lead to underutilisation of the spectrum for several years and block 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 existing rules. The regulator also recommended auction of all 3G spectrum available with the government at a marginally high rate of Rs 3,746 per Mhz pan-India against Rs 3,705 crore per MHz fixed by government for the same in March 2015 auction.