BackEGoM on telecom to meet again on 7 January
The eGoM fails to make any major decision on spectrum auction at a meeting on Thursday
Premium(Priyanka Parashar/Mint)
New Delhi: The empowered group of ministers (eGoM) looking into the auction of telecom spectrum will meet again on 7 January as they failed to make any major decision at a meeting on Thursday, according to government officials present at the meeting.
The officials declined to be named.
The ministerial panel, headed by finance minister P. Chidambaram, was expected to decide on issues related to the future of spectrum in the 900Mhz band, the sale of which is expected to take place in March.
The panel was also expected to discuss the sale of 1800Mhz band spectrum that remained unsold after the November auction concluded.
The proposed auctions are expected to earn the government a minimum of ₹ 40,000 crore, including around ₹ 25,000 crore from the 900Mhz spectrum band auction and ₹ 14,000 crore from the auction of unsold 1800Mhz band spectrum.
In the November auction, the government put up only 10 Mhz of 1800Mhz band spectrum for auction, divided in eight blocks of 1.25Mhz each. The auction earned the government a fourth of the estimated ₹ 40,000 crore it had targeted to raise.
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