According to data by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry, Bengaluru has become the second city, after Delhi, to cross Rs 100 crore in provisional winning price. At the end of the 10th day on Friday, the provisional winning price of one channel in Bengaluru touched Rs 105 crore. In Delhi, the figure is Rs 144 crore.
Thus far, 86 channels in 56 cities have been bid successfully. The total reserve price for the first batch is Rs 550 crore. According to ministry sources, the effort has been to keep FM radio auction as transparent as the telecom spectrum auction. The process has been monitored by top representatives of the finance ministry and a report of how it is progressing has been sent to the Prime Minister's Office. Another week of auction is expected.
The I&B ministry notified the policy guidelines on expansion of FM radio broadcasting services in 2011. Thereafter it consulted the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to give its recommendations on migration of existing Phase-II licencees to Phase-III. In light of Trai recommendations, the government notified the migration policy on in January this year for migration to Phase-III and to conduct the first batch of FM Phase-III auctions.