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ShareNew Delhi: Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday gave a formal go-ahead to the proposed auction of 3G (third generation) telecom spectrum, just a day after the Union Cabinet cleared the Rs10,000-crore optic fibre project for defence forces.
Speaking at the concluding session of the Telecom Summit, organised by Ficci, the PM put to rest all fears of any further delay to the 3G auction.
"I am happy that the auction of spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless access services will be conducted shortly," the PM said. He added that "in a reform initiative, the government has decided that this spectrum will be allocated at a market-determined price rather than an administered one."
The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for building an optic fibre communication network for the defence forces, in lieu of the spectrum that it vacates. The Cabinet nod will enable the defence ministry to vacate a total of 45 MHz of spectrum (including 2G and 3G), that can be further allocated to telecom companies.
The 3G auction is scheduled to begin on January 14, 2010. The government is keen on holding the 3G auction on time, as it is expected to garner between Rs30,000 crore and Rs35,000 crore for the Exchequer. The reserve price for pan-India 3G spectrum is at Rs3,500 crore.
Sources said the government is working on allotting four uniform 3G slots across all circles in the country, as DoT has now got the additional spectrum that it had sought. In the pre-bid memorandum, DoT had mentioned that some circles would have to make do with just 2 or 3 slots only due to dearth of spectrum. In Rajasthan, no auction was scheduled. Many telcos had opposed this discrepency.
Advisor to the prime minister Sam Pitroda is believed to be instrumental in sorting out the differences between the defence ministry and DoT on spectrum vacation.
Pat for low tariff
At a time when the telecom industry is caught in a tariff war, and GSM biggie Bharti Airtel wants the regulator to examine `predatory pricing' by some operators, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cheered the competition in the sector.
"It is a matter of satisfaction to us that our telecom tariffs are among the lowest in the world," the PM said on Friday. "This, I believe has been possible due to our regulatory regime which has encouraged competition, and also due to the innovation and enterprise of our private sector," he added. This may be a signal to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to not meddle in tariff matters. Currently, telecom tariff is under forbearance and guided by market forces.
Even Union communications minister A Raja and minister for state Gurudas Kamat referred to the recent tariff offers by telcos -- like per-second billing, half a paisa per second calls, 29 paise per minute plan, and the 1 paisa per SMS scheme -- as a good initiative.
