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Sistema Shyam has told the telecom regulator that any exercise to increase the price of 800 MHz spectrum band would be unfair.
The company also said the TRAI should not impose any restrictions that would bar Sistema Shyam from bidding for spectrum.
The TRAI had floated a consultation paper asking stakeholders for comments on pricing 800 MHz band. In the paper, the regulator indicated that Sistema Shyam could be barred from participating in the auction on grounds that the company could acquire more spectrum at lower price.
Sistema Shyam had acquired 3.75 MHz in the 800 MHz band during the last auction. The TRAI’s worry is that the company could buy additional spectrum to take its total holding to 5MHz and start offering 4G services using LTE technology whereas the price for this band was set at a lower level under the premise that it can be used for 2G services.
In response, the company has said the TRAI’s observations were incorrect because the spectrum in 800 MHz band was not contiguous, which was necessary for offering LTE services.
“The spectrum available with Sistema Shyam is non-contiguous and allocated frequency are spread across the 800 MHz band which cannot be used to deploy advanced LTE,” the company said in its submission to TRAI, adding that spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 900 MHz should be priced higher than 800 MHz.
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