Telecom spectrum auction to proceed as scheduled

Govt hopes to raise at least $1.8 bn from the auction

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is determined to start the forthcoming auction on 3 February as scheduled, and is hopeful that pending issues, including the key decision on the annual spectrum fee, would be resolved before the auction starts, DoT secretary MF Farooqui said here on Wednesday.

However, the Telecom Commission (TC), which is the highest decision making body in DoT, is yet to take a decision on spectrum usage charge (SUC) and is expected to have a meeting on the matter soon.

Farooqui was speaking on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Telecom Sector Skill Council which targets to provide about five million of skilled manpower for the industry by 2022.

The issue of SUC came under discussion after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had, in September last year, suggested the adoption of a flat SUC at 3% of AGR of telcos, irrespective of their spectrum holding. However, an internal committee of the DoT has opposed the move, while the TC wanted to take a decision in consultation with the Department of Economic Affairs.

Companies like Reliance Jio, which holds only broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, opposed the recommendation as it would require paying only 1% of AGR as SUC. Incumbent GSM operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Uninor have spoken in favour of the move.

At present, telecom operators pay between 1-8% of AGR depending on their spectrum holding.

Meanwhile, the DoT had earlier estimated that the auction would bring more than Rs 11,000 crore to the Government exchequer. The government’s total revenue target is Rs 40,874.50 crore this fiscal year from spectrum, including auction amount, one-time spectrum charge and annual regular licence fee.