Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology

07-December-2012 16:10 IST

Government has fixed Rs.14000 crores as pan India reserve price for 1800 MHz band 2G spectrum, taking into account, among others, the following:

• The recommendations of TRAI in the matter

• the fact that the reserve price is only the floor price, and that the final applicable one time charges for spectrum will be discovered through auction;

• the desirability of keeping the reserve price at a level so as to encourage the participation of more players in the auction;

• the fact that the total Government revenues from the auction will depend both on the one time charges for the spectrum and the Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC);

In the year 2008, as per the existing policy, 2G start-up spectrum was assigned as per the provisions of the Unified Access Service License. No separate upfront charges were levied for allotment of 2G spectrum. However, annual spectrum usages charges are being levied as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).

This information was given by Shri Milind Deora, Minister of State for C&IT in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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MV/RK

Reserve price for 2G spectrum set as auction floor; final one-time charges via auction and revenue tied to usage charges. The Government fixed a pan-India reserve price for 1800 MHz 2G spectrum as an auction floor, with final one-time spectrum charges to be discovered through auction; total Government receipts will depend on both auction-determined one-time charges and ongoing Spectrum Usage Charges, while prior 2G start-up spectrum was allotted under the Unified Access Service License without upfront fees but subject to annual usage charges as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue.