Telecom panel approves liberalisation for 800 MHz

To liberalise administratively allotted spectrum, telcos need to pay a market-determined price for the remaining period of their licence.

The Telecom Commission on Friday allowed operators wanting to liberalise their 800 MHz spectrum in circles where auctions were not held in 2015 by paying the reserve price proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for the upcoming auction, with the condition that the telecom firm pays the final winning price after the auction.

This benefits Reliance Communications — which has already liberalised its 800 MHz spectrum in 17 circles by paying Rs 5,384 crore — as it enables it to do so in the remaining four circles. As a result, the company can extend its spectrum sharing and trading pact with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio on a pan-India basis.

[related-post]

The four circles concerned are Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Based on the reserve price, RCom’s outgo comes to around Rs 5,193 crore but since it needs to pay only for the balance period of the validity of its licence (2021) after making some adjustment in lieu of the entry fee paid, the final amount comes to Rs 1,290 crore.

With this go-ahead by the TC, both RCom and RJio can now offer 4G LTE services across the country.

To liberalise administratively allotted spectrum, telcos need to pay a market-determined price for the remaining period of their licence.