Industry stakeholders meet telecom secretary

Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg Wednesday held his first round-table meeting with industry players to discuss sectoral issues, said a source.

Industry associations apprised Garg about spectrum crunch, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recommendations on upcoming spectrum auction prices, and reclaiming unused spectrum from the defence.

"He (Rakesh Garg) said the issues will be analysed by the internal team of the department and will be prioritised keeping in mind the ongoing activities in the industry," the source mentioned.

Garg also said the next meeting will be held soon.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Oct 15 recommended around 10 percent hike in the reserve price for 1,800 MHz band spectrum auction compared to the last winning price in the February 2014 sale.

In December 2015, seven each licences of Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications, four licences of Bharti Airtel and six licences of Vodafone are scheduled to complete their 20-year term after which they require renewal.

The revenue target set by the government in 2014-15 budget from spectrum auction is to the tune of Rs.45,471 crore. In 2013-14, the total receipts from auction were of the order of Rs.40,847.06 crore. In February 2014, in a 10-day auction of 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz, the government mopped up Rs.61,162 crore.