Spectrum sale: Govt hopeful of achieving Rs 40,000 cr target

The government is expected to achieve the revenue target of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from spectrum sale this fiscal, Telecom Secretary M F Farooqui said.

"Hopefully, we will achieve the Rs 40,000 crore revenue target from auction," Farooqui told reporters after meeting Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram.

The third round of spectrum auction will start from January 23. The Government had set a total revenue target of Rs 40,874.5 crore (Rs 408.74 billion) this fiscal from spectrum, including auction amount, one-time spectrum charge and annual regular licence fee.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has already issued the notice inviting application (NIA) for the upcoming auction.

As per the timeline mentioned in NIA, interested companies can submit their applications January 4. The DoT also held a pre-bid conference on December 20.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended up to 60 per cent cut in the auction reserve price for spectrum in the 900

MHz band in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles. It had also suggested 37 per cent cut in the reserve price for spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.

However, Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body of Department of Telecom (DoT), had recommended raising reserve price of pan-India mobile phone spectrum by 15 per cent over the one suggested by Trai, and 25 per cent higher in case of key circles like Delhi and Mumbai.

The Empowered Group of Ministers has approved the price recommended by Telecom Commission.