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Category: TRAI

  • FM advertisement revenue up by Rs 216 crore in 2013-2014: TRAI

    FM advertisement revenue up by Rs 216 crore in 2013-2014: TRAI

    MUMBAI: Radio is not just an affordable means for mass communication but is also very popular, thanks to its wide coverage, terminal portability, low set up costs and affordability.

     

    The medium is seeing a strong growth of advertisement revenue according to TRAI’s annual report for the year 2013-14. From Rs 1191 crore in 2012-2013 it rose to Rs 1407 crore in 2013-2014, up by Rs 216 crore. Not only this, the medium has been growing at a steady pace since 2008-09. From Rs 539 crore in 2008-09, it rose further by Rs 717 crore, Rs 1017 crore, and Rs 1078 crore for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 respectively.

     

    India has definitely seen a spurt in the number of private FM radio stations. But the number has been stagnant for the year’s 2013 and 2014 with 242 private FM radio stations. In 2008 there were a total of 210 private FM radio stations. This increased to 241 in 2009 and went up by 245 in 2010 and continued till 2012. The number dropped to 242 in 2013 and has been still till 2014.  Besides the 242 private FM radio stations operational as of March 2014, there is also the public service broadcaster- All India Radio (AIR) having a network of 277 stations and 432 broadcast transmitters (148 are MW, 236 FM and 48 SW). In India FM Radio broadcasting, due to its versatility, is considered as the main medium to provide entertainment, information and education within the radio sector.

     

    With a view to further expand the spread of FM services to other cities particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern states and island territories and to address certain other issues, the government on 25 July 2011 issued consolidated policy guidelines on phase III of expansion of FM radio broadcasting through private agencies. “The phase III is intended to extend FM radio’s reach to 294 cities with additional 839 FM radio stations thereby boosting the regional growth of FM radio stations. It is expected that post phase III, FM radio will cover around 85 per cent of the territory of the country,” states the report.

     

    The scheme to rope in private broadcasters for FM radio has significantly contributed to enhance the coverage and provide good quality of reception to radio listeners. This has also encouraged local talent and generated employment opportunities in various cities.

     

    The radio sector in the country witnessed another expansion with the opening up of Community Radio Stations (CRS). The annual report highlights that there is a huge    potential    in   India   for establishment of CRS given the vast landscape of this country, numerous languages, various cultures and diverse social stratification.

     

    Community Radio is known to serve the purpose of networking of small communities with an objective to focus on the common man’s day-to-day concerns and help them realize local aspirations. As on March 2014, out of the 194 licenses issued for the setting up of community radio stations, 161 community radio stations have become operational. 

  • Subscription is biggest contributor to TV industry revenues: TRAI

    Subscription is biggest contributor to TV industry revenues: TRAI

    MUMBAI: India is one of the most profitable and growing markets when it comes to the television ecosystem. In terms of the broadcasting sector consisting of television and radio, India has the world’s third largest TV market after China and USA.

     

    The annual report of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the year 2013-14 has detailed out activities of the Authority, which was presented in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in March this year.

     

    According to the annual report, as on March 2014, of the 270 million households, around 169 million have been projected to have television sets catered to by cable TV systems, DTH services, IPTV services and the terrestrial TV network of Doordarshan, put together.

     

    While DTH has 64.5 million registered subscribers (37.2 million active subscribers), IPTV caters to around half a million subscribers. On the other hand, cable TV is estimated to have around 99 million subscribers, whereas the terrestrial TV network of Doordarshan covers about 92 per cent of population of the country through a vast network of terrestrial transmitters. The broadcasting and cable television services sector consists of 55 pay broadcasters, an estimated 60,000 cable operators, 6000 multi system operators (MSOs) (including 144 MSOs registered in DAS), six pay DTH operators, apart from pubcaster – Doordarshan, having free-to-air DTH service.

     

    There were 793 TV channels registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at the end of financial year 2013-14 out of which 187 were SD pay TV channels and 34 HD Pay TV channels. India’s TV industry grew from Rs 37,010 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 41,720 crore in the year 2013, thereby registering a growth of around 12.7 per cent.

     

    “The subscription revenue accounts for the major share of the overall revenue of the TV industry. The subscription revenue grew from Rs 24,500 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 28,100 crore in the year 2013. The advertisement revenue in the TV sector in India grew up from Rs 12,500 crore in the year 2012 to Rs 13,600 crore in the year 2013,” states the report.

     

    The last decade has significantly changed the dynamics of the Cable and Satellite (C&S) TV market. One of the most significant developments has been the digitisation of the cable TV sector in India. The process of digitisation is underway, in a phased manner. By the March 2014, more than 22 million Set Top Boxes were deployed. While implementation of digitization with addressability is going to be a game changer and would drive the growth of the broadcasting and cable TV services in the country, the DTH sector is registering a growth of around one million subscribers per month. This clearly indicates the growing popularity and acceptability of digital addressable platforms, which have a lot more to offer to all the stakeholders.

     

    Stakeholders in cable and satellite TV service sector

     

    As of March 2014, the total number of TV channels registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was 793, which include 187 SD pay channels, 34 HD pay channels and four advertisement free pay channels. These channels are owned by around 350 broadcasters (content owners), out of which 55 are the pay TV broadcasters.

     

    Satellite TV channels

     

    The number of satellite channels permitted by MIB has grown from 449 in 2009 to 793 in 2014. The number of pay SD channels has grown from 130 in 2009 to 187 in 2014. The report states that there are total 33 operational HD channels in India till 2013.

     

    DTH Services

     

    Since its inception in 2003, DTH operators have been adding new subscribers at a rate of around one million per month, attaining a registered subscriber base of around 64.82 million subscribers of pay DTH services catered by the six DTH operators by March 2014. This is besides the viewership of the free DTH services of Doordarshan. In March 2009, there were a total of 13.09 million DTH subscribers. This number grew to 21.30 million, 35.56 million, 46.25 million, 56.48 million to 64.82 million subscribers for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

     

    Cable TV Services

     

    Cable TV service is the largest television service sector with an estimated subscriber base of around 99 million subscribers. From 52 million subscribers in March 2004 it has risen by 58 million, 66 million, 72.5 million, 80 million, 84 million, 88 million, 92 million, 94 million and 99 million cable TV subscribers from 2005 – 2013 respectively.

     

    Digital addressable Cable TV systems

     

    As per data provided by various MSOs, there were around 85 lakh STBs deployed in the first phase areas of DAS implementation covering four metros namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. In the second phase of DAS implementation, covering 38 cities, approximately 142 lakhs STBs were deployed as on March 2014.

     

    Trends in the tariff in the Broadcasting sector

     

    In order to provide cost effective broadcasting services to the consumer, TRAI has laid down regulatory framework, from time to time, in the form of tariff orders. The tariffs for areas served through non-addressable systems, notified DAS areas, and that for the addressable systems such as DTH, HITS and IPTV etc are governed by respective tariff orders issued by TRAI.

     

    Further, the wholesale pricing has been prescribed with a certain cap, linked to non-addressable platforms tariff ceilings. With these provisions at the wholesale and retail levels, a trend is likely to emerge where the subscription pattern is consumer specific rather than defined by the service providers.

  • TRAI issues new tariff order for DTH Customer Premises Equipment

    TRAI issues new tariff order for DTH Customer Premises Equipment

    NEW DELHI: While declaring that there will be transparent and upfront declaration of installation and activation charges by direct to home (DTH) operators, which will not exceed Rs 450, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said that the operators will have to mandatorily offer an outright purchase scheme called Standard Scheme for all types of Customer Premises Equipments (CPEs) on a standalone basis.

     

    In the new Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Seventh) (the Direct to Home Services) Tariff Order 2015 issued today, TRAI said the aim was to prescribe a framework for commercial interoperability of CPE offered by the operators to their subscribers.

     

    The order says subscribers shall have the option of returning the CPE by paying a nominal collection charge of Rs 300 to the DTH operator or to return the CPE at the designated collection centre.

     

    DTH operators can levy no other charges by any other name other than those specified in the order on the subscribers.

     

    The operators have been given a time of 60 days to align their business processes for compliance with the provisions of the new Tariff Order.

     

    The order provides for transparent price declaration of all types of CPEs by the DTH operators to enable a subscriber to make an informed choice.

     

    Other than the Standard Scheme, the operators may offer additional schemes including bundled schemes and rental schemes.

     

    In the rental schemes, DTH operators can charge a specified one-time interest free refundable security deposit, installation and activation charges from the subscriber during enrolment followed  by specified monthly rental charges. No repair /maintenance charges are permissible from such subscribers.

     

    DTH operators will cater for free maintenance and repairs of CPEs for three years after installation/ activation. In case of outright purchase and hire purchase schemes, DTH operators may levy visitation charges not exceeding Rs 250 per visit after the warranty period has elapsed.

     

    Subscribers shall have an option of buy-back/refund for CPEs in all the offered schemes including bundled schemes with the exception of rental schemes where the subscriber will get back the security deposit.

     

    DTH operators may prescribe a lock-in period not exceeding six months for a subscriber to remain committed. Subscribers can surrender the CPE any time subject to levy of certain charges that have been prescribed.

     

    DTH operators will setup collection centers at every district headquarters to enable easy return of CPEs. Subscribers shall be provided with a toll-free telephone number for registration of request for surrender of connection.

     

    The operators will declare all current schemes on their websites while also publishing all charges for each scheme. Subscribers should be given details of the scheme opted by him.

     

    DTH services in India have been growing at a rapid pace since they were introduced in 2003. Today, there are six private operators offering DTH services to around 73 million subscribers. As these operators have launched the services at different points of time, deploying different transmission and compression standards and encryption solutions, the CPE deployed by one operator may not be compatible with the network of another operator. Therefore, if a subscriber wishes to migrate to another DTH operator or cable TV platform, he is required to invest in the CPE/STB of the other operator. It has also been observed that there is a lack of transparency in various schemes offered by the operators in the market.

     

    The Authority is of the view that the DTH operators in this regard can largely protect interests of consumers through the provision of commercial interoperability of CPEs and mandating transparent and upfront declaration of all charges and conditions at the time of providing service. Commercial interoperability provides for an exit option to a subscriber in case he wishes to change the operator and avail the services from another DTH operator for any reason.

  • TRAI seeks views to regulate Over-The-Top services

    TRAI seeks views to regulate Over-The-Top services

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today asked stakeholders whether it was too early to establish a regulatory framework for over-the-top (OTT) services, since internet penetration is still evolving, and access speeds are generally low and there is limited coverage of high-speed broadband in the country.

     

    At the same time, TRAI sought opinion on whether a beginning should be made now with a regulatory framework that could be adapted to changes in the future in a Consultation Paper on ‘Regulatory Framework for OTT services.’ The regulator wants stakeholders to send in their comments by 25 April and counter-comments by 8 May.

     

    TRAI wants to know if OTT players offering communication services (voice, messaging and video call services) through applications (resident either in the country or outside) should be brought under the licensing regime.

     

    It has sought suggestions on whether the growth of OTT is impacting the traditional revenue stream of telecom service providers and is the increase in data revenues of the TSPs sufficient to compensate for this impact.

     

    The regulator wants stakeholders to state whether the OTT players should pay for use of the TSPs network over and above data charges paid by consumers, the pricing options that can be adopted and could they include prices based on bandwidth consumption.

     

    Do stakeholders feel that imbalances exist in the regulatory environment in the operation of OTT players? What should the framework to address these issues be, and how can the prevailing laws and regulations be applied to OTT players (who operate in the virtual world)? are some of the questions to which, TRAI wants answers.

     

    At the outset, TRAI has noted that TSPs offering fixed and mobile telephony are currently being overwhelmed by online content, known as OTT applications and services. The term OTT refers to applications and services, which are accessible over the internet and ride on operators’ networks offering internet access services e.g. social networks, search engines, amateur video aggregation sites etc. The best known examples of OTT are Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, Chat On, Snapchat, Instagram, Kik, Google Talk, Hike, Line, WeChat, Tango, e-commerce sites (Amazon, Flipkart etc.), Ola, Facebook messenger, BlackBerry Messenger, iMessage, online video games and movies (Netflix, Pandora). Today, users can directly access these applications online from any place, at any time, using a variety of internet connected consumers. TSPs also means Network providers, Internet Service Providers, fixed and mobile, broadband providers, data service providers, wireless net providers and access providers.

     

    It said the public internet that started in the 1980s has grown in scope over the last three decades. In its current form, it has the added ability to carry the entire gamut of services that are required to be delivered to a consumer of telecom services. It allows a telecom subscriber to access almost all the services required for information, education and entertainment. It has enabled an individual’s commercial transactions including retail; in that respect, it has altogether redefined the conventional marketplace. Even personalized services, such as a taxi ride can be accessed on a person’s fingertips. This growth has also brought about a fundamental shift in other spheres including telecom and TV. Earlier, networks used to be built around specific applications, say voice, internet or Pay TV. Voice, message and video content have now been reduced to mere bytes.

     

    It is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to know if there is an economic difference in connecting various networks via a land phone, cell phone, or a computer. In fact, young users find it difficult to distinguish among these three networks; from their perspective, all that matters is connectivity. They visualize these not as a layered and interconnected series of discreet networks, but as an organic whole.

     

    The regulator therefore wants to know how the security concerns should be addressed with regard to OTT players providing communication services and what security conditions such as maintaining data records, logs etc. need to be mandated for such OTT players. Furthermore, suggestions are sought on how the OTT players offering app services ensure security, safety and privacy of the consumer.

     

    What forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach, the regulator wants to know, and whether the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications.

     

  • TRAI imposes financial disincentives and penalties on MSOs

    TRAI imposes financial disincentives and penalties on MSOs

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has notified an amendment to the existing Quality of Service Regulations (QoS) for Digital Addressable System (DAS) by imposing financial disincentives on multi-system operators, who are not complying with the provisions regarding billing and issue of receipts for payment made by the subscribers.

     

    A provision for financial disincentive for an amount not exceeding Rs 20 per subscriber has been made in the amended regulation. The Authority is of the view that enabling the imposition of financial disincentives will be an effective deterrent and will incentivise MSOs to issue bills and receipts to subscribers for payments made.

     

    The QoS Regulations also prescribes that the cable TV services shall be offered to the subscribers both on pre-paid and post-paid payment models with the options being given to subscribers.

     

    In the amendment regulation, an explanation clarifies that the pre-paid option offered by MSO shall be implemented through electronic pre-paid mechanisms. In order to ensure that the MSOs honour the pre-paid or post-paid option given by the subscriber in a timely manner, a financial disincentive of not exceeding Rs 100 per subscriber has been made on the MSO for each contravention.

     

    The Standards of Quality of Service (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 provides MSOs a time of 60 days to align their business processes for compliance with the provisions of the regulations.

     

    TRAI is of the view that the imposition of financial disincentives would effectively curb the non-compliance of the provisions of the regulations and would benefit consumers and the Cable TV sector.

     

    The QoS Regulation for DAS lays down the norms for the issue of bills to subscribers, and the issue of receipts for every payment made by subscribers.

     

    It was observed that the prescribed norms for billing and issue of receipts for every payment made by subscribers were not being complied with by the MSOs. Such non-compliance has resulted in numerous legitimate consumer grievances. In the absence of a bill, a subscriber cannot ascertain whether the amount demanded by the MSO for the cable TV services is correct or not. Similarly, in the absence of a receipt for the payment made, there is no means to get a grievance redressed in case of any billing related dispute with the operators.

     

    For consumers, such bills and receipts are essential; when it is available to consumers in other commercial markets, why not in the cable TV market?

     

    Because of the non delivery of such bills and receipts by the MSOs, information of actual subscription vis-?-vis billing and payment details are not being entered into the Subscriber Management System (SMS). Consequently, commercial deals and financial transactions amongst operators are not being carried in a transparent manner. It is adversely affecting smooth implementation of DAS as mandated by law.

     

    In absence of proper billing and accounting of receipts, there is a very real possibility of a loss of revenues accruable to the Government. It is essential that the Government gets its due tax revenues arising out of the business of the cable TV services sector.

  • TRAI’s recommendations for reserve price for Phase-III FM radio

    TRAI’s recommendations for reserve price for Phase-III FM radio

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today recommended that the reserve price for FM Radio channels for Phase III in a new city is to be set equal to 0.8 times the valuation of FM Radio channels in that city.

     

    Thus, TRAI said the reserve price for FM radio channels for each of the 253 new cities has been fixed at 80 per cent of the valuation for each city.

     

    In its recommendations on the reserve price for all the 253 new cities, TRAI also said the reserve price in 11 border cities in the ‘Others’ category in Phase-III should be Rs 5 lakh per channel, as approved by the Cabinet in the Phase-III policy.

     

    After considering all comments received from stakeholders during consultation process and further analysis of the issues, TRAI said in a consultation paper that the valuation of FM radio channels in 253 new cities has been worked out as a simple mean of the three valuation approaches. The approaches are based on population of the city; per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP); listenership of FM Radio; and per capita Gross Revenue earned by the existing FM Radio operators.

     

    The regulator said it had received a letter from the Ministry on 16 December seeking recommendations of the Authority on reserve prices for auction of FM Radio channels in 264 new cities as per the Phase-III policy guidelines.

     

    In all 831 FM Radio channels in these cities are proposed to be auctioned through an ascending e-auction process as provided in Phase-III policy.

     

    Out of the 264 new cities, 253 cities have a population more than one lakh according to the census data 2011 and are classified as B, C, and D category cities. There are 798 FM Radio channels in these 253 cities, which are proposed to be put up for auction.

     

    The remaining 11 cities having a population less than one lakh are in the border areas of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the North East (NE) region. There are 33 FM Radio channels in these 11 cities, which are proposed to be put up for auction.

     

    TRAI issued a consultation paper on “Reserve Price for auction of FM Radio channels in new cities” on 6 February. All the comments received were posted on the TRAI website. Subsequently, an Open House Discussion was conducted by TRAI with all the stakeholders on 9 March at New Delhi.

     

  • TRAI extends time for draft tariff order comments for DTH interoperability methods

    TRAI extends time for draft tariff order comments for DTH interoperability methods

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended the deadline for comments by stakeholders on the draft Tariff Order prescribing framework for commercial interoperability of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) in DTH services. The draft was issued on 27 February, 2015 and invited comments/views from the stakeholders, latest by 13 March, 2015.

     

    Now, at the request of stakeholders, the last date for receipt of written comments has been extended up to 19 March, 2015. The Authority has also decided that no request for further extension of time for submission of comments will be entertained.

    It can be noted that TRAI had issued the draft Tariff Order for consultation, since in the DTH sector, as on date, CPEs deployed by one operator is not compatible with the network of another operator and a subscriber cannot migrate to another operator or platform without re-investing in another CPE.

     

    According to the Authority, the interests of subscribers in this regard can be largely protected through the provision for commercial interoperability of CPEs. Commercial interoperability provides for a viable exit option to the subscribers in case they want to switch operator /platform.

     

    The draft is aimed at striking a balance between the interests of the consumers and that of the service providers, as well as to curb piling up of e-waste on account of CPEs.

     

    The draft also provides for declaration of the price of all types of CPEs, installation and activation charges and applicable taxes on CPEs by DTH operators; mandatory offering of standard scheme for all type of CPEs on a standalone basis by DTH operators, specifying separately the price of CPE, taxes, other charges etc; flexibility to DTH operators to offer other schemes; and flexibility to DTH operators to offer brand new as well as refurbished CPEs.

     

    This paper also refers to provision of buy-back/refund option in all the offered schemes, including bundled schemes for CPEs; mechanism for buy-back/refund in the standard and other schemes for CPEs; provision of lock-in period for the purpose of refund in the offered schemes for CPEs if the subscriber wants to switch from one operator to the other; applicability of buy-back/refund option for all types of offered CPEs; option for the DTH operators to redeploy the surrendered CPEs; mechanism for registration of request for surrender of connection; and time-limit to settle refund/buy-back claims of the subscribers.

  • Nine million broadband subscribers added between Dec 2014 – Jan 2015

    Nine million broadband subscribers added between Dec 2014 – Jan 2015

    NEW DELHI: There was an increase of approximately nine million broadband subscribers between December 2014 and January 2015 with the number going up from 85.74 million to 94.49 million. According to reports received by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from service providers, this signified a monthly growth rate of 10.21 per cent.

    As in previous months, the largest growth was seen in the mobile devices users (phones and dongles) segment with 78.66 million subscribers by January end as compared to 69.99 million a month earlier, signifying a monthly growth rate of 12.38 per cent.

    Fixed Wireless subscribers (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio & VSAT) showed a growth of 1.59 per cent, going up from 430,000 to 440,000.  

     

    Wired subscribers increased by 0.49 per cent from 15.32 million to 15.39 million.

     

    The top five service providers constituted 83.41 per cent market share of total broadband subscribers at the end of January 2015. These service providers were Bharti Airtel (20.29 million), BSNL (19.07 million), Vodafone (17.86 million), Idea Cellular (14.12 million) and Reliance Communications Group (7.47 million).

     

    Wireless subscribers with less than 1MB data usage in a month have not been considered as internet/broadband subscribers by Reliance Communication Group and Idea Cellular Ltd.

     

    As on 31 January, the top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL (9.98 million), Bharti Airtel (1.42 million), MTNL (1.14 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (0.63 million) and YOU Broadband (0.43 million).

     

    Whereas the top five wireless broadband service providers were Bharti Airtel (18.87 million), Vodafone (17.86 million), Idea Cellular (14.12 million), BSNL (9.09 million) and Reliance Communications Group (7.36 million) by January-end.

  • Two new part-time members appointed to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

    Two new part-time members appointed to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

    NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Professor Dr. M. Jagadesh Kumar and former National Human Rights Commission secretary general Rajiv Sharma have been appointed part-time members of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    The two members will hold office for a period of three years from the date on which they assume office or until they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier.

     

    Orders to this effect were issued in exercise of powers under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997.

     

    A TRAI source told indiantelevision.com that the two persons have been appointed as members of the Authority’s top decision-making unit, and therefore will not be given specific assignments of telecom or broadcasting.

     

    Meanwhile, TRAI has already advertised for filling the post of chairman as the term of Dr Rahul Khullar is ending on 14 May. The chairperson is appointed for a term of three years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier.

  • Telecom spectrum bid: Rs 77,000 crore committed by end of round three

    Telecom spectrum bid: Rs 77,000 crore committed by end of round three

    NEW DELHI: A total telecom spectrum of Rs 77,000 crore (provisional figure) was reached by the end of the week with 17 rounds.

     

    Eight telecom operators — Reliance Communications, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices, Uninor, Idea Cellular and Aircel attended the six fresh rounds of bidding. 

     

    On day one, bids value was Rs 60,000 crore, while day two bids value reached Rs 65,000 crore. The bids were held for spectrum in 2100 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands.  

     

    The bidding has taken place in all bands, according to the Communications and Information Technology Ministry. There is still some spectrum available and auction will continue for this. 

     

    The reserve price value was around Rs 49,000 crores of provisionally won spectrum.

     

    The estimated revenue from the auction of spectrum is targetted at Rs 64,840 crore (excluding 2100 MHz spectrum) of which Rs 16,000 crore is expected to be realized in the current financial year.

     

    The reserve price approved is Rs 3646 crore pan-India per MHZ in 800 MHz, Rs 3980 crore for 900 MHz band pan India excluding Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, and Jammu and Kashmir; Rs 2191 crore pan India (excluding Maharashtra and West Bengal) in 1800 MHz band. 

     

    A meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, early in January, approved the proposal of the Department of Telecom to proceed with auction in 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands. 

     

    The quantum of spectrum to be put to auction was 103.75 MHz in 800 MHz band in all service areas, 177.8 MHz  in 17 LSAs in 900 MHz band and 99.2 MHz in 15 LSAs in 1800 MHz band. Thus a total of 380.75 MHz in 800, 900 and 1800 MHz was being put to auction.  

     

    Payment terms, eligibility criteria and auction objectives shall be as in the previous auction of February 2014. 

     

    The Cabinet had also decided that intent to put 2100 MHz to simultaneous auction may be announced along with auction of other bands. Details of this will be announced later on.

     

    Later that month on 15 January, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India opined that clubbing the 2100 MHz band spectrum with the spectrum of other bands for auction in February will be defeated if sufficient spectrum is not made available in the 2100 MHz band.

     

    “A split auction of 2100 MHz (one in February 2015 and remaining say, in December 2015 after availability from Defence Ministry) will artificially increase the market price of 2100 MHz in February because of the severe supply constraint. The 15 MHz of spectrum in the 2100 MHz spectrum being vacated by the Defence Ministry should be auctioned in view of the in-principle agreement reached with MoD, even if it is not available immediately,” TRAI had said. 

     

    The Authority reiterated that in the 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 local service area if three to four blocks are available in that local service area. 

     

    TRAI had said there was no change in the reserve prices for spectrum in the 2100 MHz bands from what were recommended earlier.

     

    It said the Department of Telecom is responsible to ensure that the spectrum being auctioned is either interference free or to share information upfront about the areas where interference is likely to occur so that the telecom service providers participating in the auction can take informed decision.

     

    These views were given to the DoT in Clarifications/Reconsideration of Recommendations on ‘Valuation and Reserve Price of Spectrum: 2100 MHz Band’.