telecom regulatory authority of india
HT – 2G auction: DoT’s letters to TRAI raises eyebrows
2G auction: DoT’s letters to TRAI raises eyebrows
Manoj Gairola, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, June 05, 2012
The Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the impact of spectrum pricing on telecom tariffs, for the third time, has raised eyebrows. According to section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997, the government can ask the regulator only once to
reconsider its recommendations.
On April 23, the regulator first submitted its recommendations on spectrum auction to the government. After reconsidering the points raised by the government, it submitted a fresh set of recommendations on May 13.
On May 14, Rahul Khullar took over as the new TRAI chairman from JS Sarma. Now, the government has again sought the telecom regulator’s views on the impact of pricing on tariffs.
According to section 11 (d) of TRAI Act: “….if the Central government having considered that recommendations of… Continue reading →
FC – Telenor says deferred payment for spectrum to help new players
By PTI May 31 2012 , New Delhi
Norwegian firm Telenor today said it may not participate in the upcoming spectrum auction in case the government does not offer the option of deferred payment for the airwaves.
Citing that fund availability for the telecom sector was becoming increasingly difficult, Telenor Executive Vice President and Head of Region Asia Sigve Brekke said deferred payment would help new operators like Uninor invest in spectrum and network expansion.
“Especially for us as a new comer, there is no funding available for us in India to pay for spectrum … You need at least 4 blocks or 5 MHz to be able to operate, so the upfront payment problem is larger for us than incumbents … (if) we need to use the cash to buy spectrum, we will not be able to expand,” Brekke told reporters here.
The Supreme Court had in February cancelled… Continue reading →
HBL – Proposed 2G reserve price won’t impact industry profitability: TRAI
THOMAS K THOMAS
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has told Department of Telecom that the proposed reserve price for 2G spectrum auction will not have any adverse impact on the industry.
The telecom regulator has said that that the recommended price ensures that the full value of the spectrum is realised to the Government. TRAI has estimated the value to be about Rs 7 lakh crore.
“This will not compromise the profitability of the industry, or adversely affect the affordability to the consumer,” the TRAI said in its response to a joint letter written by four CEOs of telecom companies.
The CEOs had written to the Government on May 2 claiming that the TRAI proposals will hit the operators’ revenues. “EBITDA and Return on Capital Employed show a very healthy and increasing trend over the next 20 years. The Internal Rate of Return are also robust,” the TRAI has… Continue reading →
HBL – 2G pricing: TRAI rebuts telcos’ claims
THOMAS K. THOMAS
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has refuted claims by telecom companies that its 2G spectrum recommendations were flawed. In a point-by-point rebuttal to the joint letter sent by CEOs of four telecom companies, TRAI said the proposed reserve price will not affect the industry’s health.
“EBITDA and Return on Capital Employed show a very healthy and increasing trend over the next 20 years. The Internal Rate of Return is also robust,” TRAI has told the Department of Telecom, in reply to the joint letter from the telecom companies.
This assumes significance because the Telecom Commission has asked the regulator for a detailed analysis on the impact of the proposed base price on the industry.
HBL – New TRAI chief defends 2G spectrum pricing at JPC
Our Bureau
The new Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday defended its 2G spectrum proposals at a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
This assumes significance given that the Telecom Commission has asked TRAI to give an analysis on the impact of its pricing proposal. Telecom companies, which are protesting against the TRAI proposals, were hoping for a review.
But at today’s JPC meeting TRAI contested the telecom companies’ arguments that if implemented, the recommendations would result in increase in mobile charges. The TRAI Chairman, Dr Rahul Khullar, and former chairman, Dr J.S. Sarma, appeared before the panel.
The JPC Chairman, Mr P.C. Chacko, told Business Line that TRAI’s presentation on the new set of recommendations will continue in the next meeting of the JPC.
“We are trying for a presentation by another former chairman of TRAI. Members are yet… Continue reading →
OutlookIndia – TRAI Defends Recommendations on 2G Before JPC
PTI | New Delhi | May 29, 2012
Telecom regulator TRAI today defended the steep minimum price for auction of 2G spectrum saying the technology has undergone a “sea change” since 2008 and assured that consumers would not be affected much as they will have to pay a maximum of five paisa extra per call.
Appearing before Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Rahul Khullar and his predecessor J S Sarma are learnt to have defended the recommendation to auction 2G spectrum at a base price of Rs 3,622 crore for a megahertz of spectrum at pan-India level which is around 10 times higher than the price for 2G licences in 2008.
The recommendation was made when Sarma was heading TRAI.
On the issue of its impact on the consumers, TRAI officials said since the licences are valid for 20 years, it will have… Continue reading →
FC – Loop takes govt, Trai to TDSAT
Loop takes govt, Trai to TDSAT
By Sriram Shankar May 29 2012 , New Delhi
Loop telecom on Tuesday hauled the government and the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) before the telecom dispute settlement and appellate tribunal (TDSAT) seeking a refund of Rs 1,454 crore the company paid as entry fee for 2G licences and Rs 1,000 crore as damages citing loss of reputation.
The company, in its petition before the tribunal, asked for the release of bank guarantees of Rs 700 crore and a full refund of liquidity damage charges of Rs 7 crore. In its petition, the company said that its unified access service license (UASL) was cancelled by the Supreme Court due to the government “flip-flop” this had led to a huge losses.
Due to “faulty issuance of licence and the policy flip-flops of the government, Loop had to pay a very… Continue reading →
Call to redial
The best thing for the Government to do is to auction all available spectrum resulting from cancellation of the tainted licences.
The Telecom Commission has asked the industry regulator to give a complete “analysis” of the impact of its 2G spectrum pricing proposals on consumer tariffs, viability and continued attractiveness of the sector for investors, and revenues to the Government. That, in a sense, amounts to the Government wanting the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to revise its recommendations on auction of airwaves made last month. These have been criticised by many, quite justifiably, as muzzling competition. TRAI had suggested selling only 5 MHz of spectrum, enough to accommodate just one additional player to operate in each of the country’s 22 telecom circles. Considering the context in which the recommendations were made — in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order cancelling 122 licenses held by eight operators —… Continue reading →
India calls for review of 2G auction prices
India’s Telecom Commission will ask the country’s regulator to review its decision to recommend steep base prices for India’s forthcoming 2G auctions, reports Reuters.
Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the Commission chair, R.Chandrashekhar, urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to study “the impact of this spectrum price on the tariffs if this entire impact is passed on [and] the impact on the investments, viability and the return on the investments.”
TRAI has recommended a base price for a nationwide 1800MHz licence at INR36.22 billion (US$689.6 million) – over ten times higher than the prices set in a 2008 auction for the same airwaves.
The Indian operator community has criticised the high base price and limited number of slots proposed by the regulator.
On Friday, the Commission said that at least 10MHz of spectrum should be made available in each service area, double the 5MHz recommended by… Continue reading →
EGoM to now decide on base price for spectrum auction
The Telecom Commission (TC) on Saturday put the onus of deciding the contentious issue of the base price for auction of 1,800 MHz of 2G band spectrum on the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ].
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India [ Images ] (Trai) had recommended a reserve price of Rs 3,622 crore (Rs 36.22 billion) for one megahertz of spectrum.
In another move, which has brought some cheer to GSM companies, TC decided to ask the regulator to take a re-look at the impact that the reserve price would have on tariffs as well as on the viability of investments made by the telcos.
As part of its recommendations, Trai, under the chairmanship of J S Sarma, had said the impact on the cost of telcos would be minimal at around four to six paisa a minute.
Disagreeing with… Continue reading →
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