Telecom Commission for concluding spectrum auction by 28 February
Inter-ministerial committee formed to work on modalities of spectrum auction has suggested to start bidding rounds from 3 February
New Delhi: The proposed telecom spectrum auction should be completed by 28 February next year, inter-ministerial panel telecom commission has said.
“DoT (department of telecommunications) is authorised to recommend the time line for auction process with condition that it would be desirable for the auction be concluded by 28 February, 2015,” an official source said.
An inter-ministerial committee formed to work on modalities of spectrum auction has suggested to start bidding rounds from 3 February.
The government expects to garner a minimum of ₹ 9,355 crore from auction of three sets of spectrum band - 800 Mhz ,currently being used for code division multiple access (CDMA) services, while the other two sets of band ,900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz, are being used for Global System for Mobile (GSM)-based mobile services by leading companies like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea C♠ellular.
The spectrum auction is to be conducted for radiowaves in 900 Mhz held by existing telecom operators—Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications—as their licences are expiring in 2015-16.
In the 900 Mhz band, about 184 Mhz of spectrum is likely to be auctioned. In 1800 Mhz, the government has proposed to auction 104 Mhz of spectrum which included spectrum held by licences that are expiring in 2015-16 and unsold airwaves in February 2014 auction.
The DoT has over 130 days to meet the deadline decided by the panel. The February 2014 auction were concluded in about 65 days time from the date Cabinet decided on base price of spectrum for the auction.
This was possible as DoT had selected auctioneer before issuing notice to invite bidders.
Telecom regulator authority of India (Trai) expects that bids for spectrum may go sky high only if these sets of airwaves are put up for auction due to lower availability of spectrum compared to the needs of the industry and cut-throat competition.
The telecom commission in its meeting on 15 October had decided on payment terms for the auctioneer—agency which will operate the auction process and make required software for conducting it.
In parallel, the DoT has to work on rules for auction based on which auctioneer will design software.
Trai on 15 October released its recommendation on valuation of spectrum in 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz band for next round of auction.
Trai recommended a price of ₹ 2,138 crore per Mhz for the 1800 Mhz band. It also suggested a price of ₹ 3,004 crore per Mhz for the premium 900 Mhz band, in which mobile signals covered about twice the area than done in the 1800 Mhz band.
The government has set a total revenue target of ₹ 45,471 crore from communication services, including proceeds from the three sets of spectrum frequencies and related charges in this financial year.
The receipts under the same head were ₹ 40,847.06 crore in 2013-14, according to the revised estimates.
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First Published:19 Oct 2014, 05:59 PM IST
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