Home
Telecom
Telecom News
Steep Reserve Price May Impact Spectrum Auction: GSMA

Steep Reserve Price May Impact Spectrum Auction: GSMA

By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 2 February 2016 17:03 IST

Following the Indian telecom regulator's recommendations on spectrum reserve pricing, the global association of telecom players feels the prices are on a higher side and may impact participation of companies in auction of airwaves.

"The GSMA is very concerned over Trai's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommendation to set a starting price of $1.7 billion (roughly Rs. 11,556 crores) per MHz for pan-Indian 700 MHz spectrum. India has one of the lowest average revenues per user across the world ($2.45 at the end of 2015)," GSMA chief regulatory officer John Giusti said.

"High reserve prices and an unrealistic pre-determination of spectrum value could also reduce the willingness of potential bidders to buy the spectrum," he added.

The Trai recommended a reserve price of Rs. 1,595 crores for 700 MHz in the Delhi circle.

"In Australia, an unrealistically high reserve price resulted in a valuable portion of the 700 MHz spectrum left unsold and unused. Unused or under-utilised spectrum benefits neither the economy nor society," the global association of telecom players said.

It said more the mobile operators pay for a spectrum licence, less the capital available to roll out new mobile networks.

"As the digital economy becomes increasingly important to India's future prosperity, we encourage greater focus on the long-term benefits of connecting more people in India to affordable mobile broadband, rather than on short-term financial gain," he said.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.