Telecom stocks edge lower

Four telecom stocks lost 2.13% at 5.27% at 11:51 IST on BSE after regulator Trai in its response to the telecom department's request for clarification over pricing of various bands of spectrum said that auctions are not the only way to allot spectrum

Reliance Communications (down 5.27%), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (down 4.19%), Idea Cellular (down 2.62%), and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 2.13%) declined. Bharti Airtel (up 1.05%) gained.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 88.85 points or 0.31% at 28,410.89.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its response to Department of Telecom (DoT)'s request for clarifications over pricing of various bands of spectrum said that auctions are not the only way to allot spectrum in connection with the DoT's plan to hold two-stage auctions for 2G and 3G airwaves. One option could be to allot airwaves at a nominal price with tough rollout obligations, Trai suggested. Trai termed the telecom department's view of the sector 'myopic,' referring to the DoT's moves to sell a limited amount of 2G spectrum upfront in February and hold separate auctions for 3G later.

The regulator, meanwhile, stuck to its recommendations on the auction starting levels - Rs 3004 crore per unit of 900 MHz in 18 telecom circles and Rs 2138 crore per MHz across 20 circles for 1800 MHz airwaves - and strongly reiterated its proposal that the department hold a simultaneous multi-band auction of frequencies, citing the small amount of airwaves - that too from operators currently using them - which will drive up bidding levels and leave the industry bleeding. It once again called for exploring the extended GSM band to add to the pool of airwaves.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News