Sufficient 3G spectrum should be available: TRAI

India's telecom regulator Thursday said the reserve price of third generation (3G) spectrum was what it had recommended but sought that sufficient spectrum should be available in the 2100 megahertz (MHz) band otherwise the auction's purpose will be defeated.

"There is no change in the reserve prices for spectrum in the 2100 MHz bands from what we recommended earlier," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.

It however stressed that enough airwaves should be available for auctioing in the 2100 MHz band.

"The whole purpose of clubbing the 2100 MHz band spectrum along with spectrum of other bands for auction in February 2015 will be defeated if sufficient spectrum is not made available in the 2100 MHz band," the statement added.

The TRAI Dec 31 had recommended a base price of Rs.2,720 crore per megahertz for 2100 Mhz band as against pan-India reserve price of Rs.3,500 crore per MHz in the 2010 auction of 3G spectrum.

The Telecom Commission recently had sought clarification on the methodology of arriving at this base price.

The regulator reiterated that in the upcoming auction of 2100 MHz band spectrum, an auction-specific cap should be placed that no bidder would be permitted to bid for more than two blocks in a licence service area (LSA) if three-four blocks are available in that LSA.