Defence ministry likely to release 5 MHz in 2100 MHz band

India's defence ministry is likely to release 5 MHz of spectrum in the 2100 MHz band or 3G airwave, which will be auctioned in the upcoming February auction along with 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands by the department of telecom (DoT), an informed source said.

A proposed swap of the remaining 15 MHz spectrum in 2100 MHz band with similar quantity in 1900 MHz band is being carried out between the defence ministry and the DoT.

Both the ministries have met several times to resolve this issue.

It is also learnt that the DoT has finalized the reserve price for 800, 900 and 1800MHz bands of spectrum that will be put on sale in February.

The Telecom Commission, in its meeting Dec 8, had recommended a base price of Rs.3,693 crore per MHz for 900 MHz spectrum across 18 circles, which is around 23 percent higher than what the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had suggested.

In the 800 MHz airwave, the commission has suggested a base price of Rs.3,646 crore per MHz (pan-India), around 17 percent more than what the regulator had recommended.

For 1,800 MHz airwave, it has recommended the base price of Rs 2,191 crore per MHz across 20 telecom zones.

In December 2015, seven licenses each of Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications, four licenses of Bharti Airtel and six licenses of Vodafone will complete their 20-year term after which they should be renewed.

The DoT has estimated that the next round of spectrum auction in February 2015 will fetch at least Rs.9,355 crore. It is estimated that auction of spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band could get bids worth at least Rs.5,000 crore.