Ministers' panel sets Rs3,500-crore reserve price for 3G spectrum

The empowered group of ministers has fixed Rs3,500 crore as reserve price for 3G spectrum, to be given to a maximum five players initially, for the next generation mobile services.

The group of ministers fixed a base price of Rs1,750 crore for pan-India WiMax (wireless internet) spectrum. There will, however, be only three slots in Wimax spectrum in the first phase.

The government expects to raise Rs25,000 crore from the auction, telecom minister A Raja said, adding, the auction of both will be completed within 90 days.
 
"I do feel that the Government of India, putting together 3G and Wimax, will easily get Rs25,000 crore," he said after the meeting of the group.

The ministers panel, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, also decided to auction four of the five slots in 3G spectrum to be auctioned.
 
Mukherjee had, in his budget for 2009-10, estimated Rs35,000 crore income from auction of spectrum - both 3G and 2G.

One slot of the 3G spectrum has already been allotted to state-owned telecom firms, Raja said, adding that both MTNL and BSNL would have to match the price of 3G spectrum bid by the other four players.

The base price for pan-India 3G spectrum has been lowered to Rs3,500 crore, from Rs4,040 crore proposed earlier, after lobbying by private sector telecom majors.

The detailed programme for the auction, which will include pre-bid conference in the next couple of weeks, are expected to be announced soon.

Home minister P Chidambaram, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, I&B minister Ambika Soni and planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also attended the meeting.