Govt delays spectrum sale by 10 days to February 3

30 Dec 2013 Evaluate

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has postponed the bidding for next spectrum auction by 10 days from January 23 to February 3 amid pending issues, including spectrum usage charges, and a demand from operators seeking more time. Further, DoT in a notice put on the telecom ministry’s website, underscored that the prospective bidders will have to submit applications by January 15 to participate in the auction. Although, it did not give a reason for the delay in a revised auction schedule, but it has yet to take a decision on a change recommended by the sector regulator in the annual fee carriers pay for using spectrum.

Carriers had urged the government to decide the annual spectrum fee before the start of the auction. While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested bringing all the rates to a common level of three per cent of adjusted gross revenue, the two major telecom industry bodies have differed.

Meanwhile, GSM service providers, like Bharti and Vodafone are in sync with TRAI’s recommendation, as these companies pay charges between 3 and 6 per cent, companies on CDMA licences and on BWA platform like Reliance Jio, which pay a one per cent charge have raised their concerns over the same. Further, the Telecom Commission, an inter-ministerial panel, is scheduled to meet on December 31 to discuss the matter of spectrum usage charges (SUC).

The government, which has set a revenue target of Rs 40,874.50 crore this fiscal year from spectrum, including auction amount, one-time spectrum charge and annual regular licence fee, is planning to raise a minimum of Rs 11,300 crore from the upcoming spectrum auction. About 403 megahertz of 2G spectrum in the 1800 MHz band and about 45 MHz of spectrum in the premium 900 MHz band, would be put up for  auction.

© 2025 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×