Telecom service giant Vodafone Essar today said the regulator TRAI’s recommendations on 2G spectrum pricing are inconsistent and discriminatory.
Instead of introducing a consistent approach to pricing of spectrum, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations actually seek to introduce radically different approaches to charging for spectrum and despite the fact that all operators compete in the same market,” the telecom major said in a statement.
As per TRAI?s recommendations, the price of 1800MHz spectrum varies from Rs 268 crore/MHz to Rs 5,943 crore/MHz, a differential of 2,200 per cent, with the differential going up 3300 per cent in case of pricing for 900MHz spectrum.
Last week, TRAI had recommended fixing the price for 6.2 Mhz of pan-India start-up 2G spectrum at Rs 10,972.45 crore, more than six times the present cost of Rs 1,658 crore.
Pandit Sukhram too had auctioned mobile licenses at un-imaginable prices, and ultimately we had to shift to revenue sharing model. If 2G had been similarly priced, mobile penetration would not have reached 73 crores. There is also a bright side to selling spectrum at low prices, something more than the sale price under disputed controversy. Hope JPC and investigating agencies as well as the courts shall bear this in mind.