New Delhi: Telecom regulator Trai on Wednesday recommended Rs 11,485 crore per Mhz as base price for pan-India 700 Mhz spectrum, Rs 5,829 crore for 800 Mhz and Rs 2,873 crore for 1800 MHz frequency.
The next round of spectrum auction is expected to be held in May-June in 2016.
This is for the first time Trai has suggested the base price for 700 MHz which is considered as the most efficient frequencies for high-end mobile services.
Some analysts said that if the price was accepted and the entire spectrum was sold, the government can get upto Rs 5-6 lakh crore. However, many others were doubtful if this amount could be achieved as most telecom companies are heavily indebted.
The 700 MHz band is a sought after band for LTE (4G) deployment due to its efficiency. It provides wider coverage which reduces number of towers required and significantly cuts down the capex.
Operators had requested Trai to defer 700 MHz spectrum sale as ecosystem for providing services in this band was not developed.
