New Delhi, May 24: The Telecom Commission today recommended that the government should auction at least 10 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum and allot four slots to new operators in each circle, including those whose licences have been scrapped by a Supreme Court judgment in February.
"The Telecom Commission discussed parts of Trai's proposals on spectrum. It has decided that 10 MHz of radio waves should be auctioned at one go," said telecom secretary R. Chandrashekhar.
According to Chandrashekhar, the department of telecom (DoT) has enough spectrum to put 10 MHz (per circle) on the block and "additional spectrum can be made available if needed" in circles where there will be shortage.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had also recommended the sale of 10 MHz in each circle after initially proposing only one slot of 5 MHz per circle.
However, there was no consensus among the panel members on the base price. While Trai has proposed a reserve price of Rs 3,622 crore for the auction of 2G spectrum (1,800 MHz), a DoT panel had suggested that the base price be revised to Rs 4,245 crore per unit.
The commission will again meet on Saturday to take a call on the pricing.
Mobile operators have warned that the high reserve price can result in 100 per cent hike in tariffs. Many new operators, including foreign players Telenor and Sistema who lost their licences in the Supreme Court verdict, have threatened to exit if Trai's high reserve price is accepted.
The Telecom Commission, which is the highest decision making body of the DoT, will send its final report to a ministerial panel by the first week of June.
A final decision on all issues related to the spectrum auction will be taken by the panel, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Telecom Commission has also said that if there are more than four registered bidders in a circle, 10 MHz should be auctioned in eight blocks of 1.25 MHz each where existing players can take a maximum of two blocks while new operators take four blocks.
The commission has also agreed with Trai's proposal on a liberal use of spectrum, meaning a spectrum band can be used to provide 2G, 3G or 4G service.
It also said that existing rollout obligations for operators should be maintained, adding that Trai's recommendations on rural rollout obligations will not be conducive for getting high prices through auction.
The commission also pointed out that infrastructure in rural areas could be funded through spectrum use charge.
