The Union Cabinet has approved a 50% reduction in the reserve price of CDMA spectrum in the 800 MHz band, across all service areas. In addition to this, the cabinet has also approved a empowered group of ministers (EGoM) recommendation to charge existing operators who currently hold spectrum in the 800 MHz band in regions where an auction determined price is unavailable, on the basis of the revised spectrum price from Jan 1, 2013, until an auction determined price is formulated. The cabinet stated that this payment will be adjusted against the actual due amount, once the auction determined price is fixed. While the cabinet didn't officially disclose any new reserve price, it had previously set a reserve price of Rs 18,200 crore for a block of 5MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band, which was about 1.3 times the reserve price fixed for the GSM spectrum. As per our calculations, this reduction will translate the new reserve price to around Rs 9,100 crore for a block of 5 MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band and Rs 1,820 crore per MHz of CDMA spectrum in the 800 MHz band. Implications This reduction will probably attract CDMA players in the country to participate in the upcoming 2G auctions. According to a The Economic Times report, GSM operators like Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular are also looking to participate in the CDMA auction and have apparently told the government its intentions to participated in the spectrum sale of 800MHz band. The Unsuccessful 2G Auction This…
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