Govt to decide spectrum pricing in 3 weeks

15 Jan 2013 Evaluate

The government in next three weeks will decide on pricing of spectrum that will be sold in the second round of auction beginning March 11. The government is likely to raise Rs 45,000 crore from the spectrum sale that is expected to be completed before March end.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday allowed mobile phone operators, whose licenses were due to be revoked this week as per an earlier court order, to continue service till February 4. The time was given as the court wanted certain answers from the government on the status and floor price of the coming re-auction of 2G spectrum. However, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had urged the court to allow companies to operate until the next airwave auction.

Telecom Minister Kabil Sibal, affirmed Apex Court order as “positive” and believes that spectrum pricing issues will be decided before February 4, when the apex court will again hear the matter. “I think it’s a positive sign and I am sure that just as the previous auction process was completed without any problem the new auctions will also be completed within the time-frame and before the end of March,” Sibal said.

However, last time around, about 70 percent of the airwaves went unsold in the November auction that raised Rs 9,410 crore, less than 25 percent of the amount the government was targeting to raise from spectrum sale this fiscal.

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