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Telecom operator Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) on Wednesday said that it is disappointed with the Government’s recommendations on keeping higher reserve price of 800MHz at ₹3,646 crore per MHz.
It has requested the Government that the reserve price should be at par with the market discovered price of 1800MHz band, as the recommended reserve price of 800 Mhz spectrum is not in sync with the ‘business and ecosystem realities’, it said in a statement.
“We would urge the Government to rethink on the spectrum price for 800 Mhz band and bring it at par with the market discovered price of 1800 Mhz,” it said.
It said the proposed pricing of ₹3,646 crore per MHz is way out of line and does not merit a strong business case for buying spectrum in the said band.
“If such a pricing framework is implemented then it would be seen as going against the spirit of Prime Minister’s vision for Digital India and broadband for all,” the company said.
The Russian conglomerate that operates under MTS brand in India, also said that at such a price one would not find any takers for 800 Mhz spectrum in the 2015 auctions, given that this price has also been previously tested in the market, way back in November 2012.
The 800 MHz band is used by only two CDMA operators including SSTL and Tata Teleservices.
The Telecom Commission in a meeting on Monday had recommended the base price of 800MHz band airwave at ₹3,646 crore per MHz (pan-Indian), about 17 per cent more than what the Telecom Regulatory of Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended last month.
The TRAI’s price was itself 15 per cent higher than the price fixed in February and 72 per cent higher than the ₹1,800-crore fixed in the 2013 auction.
The next round of spectrum auction is proposed to be held in February, wherein the Government is expected to garner around ₹9,350 crore from sale of radio waves.
The Telecom Commission’s decision would now be placed before Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for final approval and after that Cabinet might be approached for certain issues.
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