The Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom will meet on July 12 to decide on the crucial aspect of spectrum pricing.
According to the new time line, the DoT will issue the information memorandum for the auction on August 22 instead of August 6. This means the auction process will not be completed before August 31, the deadline set by the Supreme Court. According to industry sources, the DoT has indicated to operators that the auction may not be completed before November or even December.
Extension, again
If that happens the telecom department will have to seek an extension from the Supreme Court. The apex court has already extended the deadline once, saying licences issued to the new players will stand cancelled from September 7 onwards.
The EGoM, now headed by the Home Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has to decide the base price for the spectrum auction. The telecom regulator had proposed a base price of Rs 18,000 crore but the telecom companies have opposed this as too high. According to top DoT officials, the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been asked to make a presentation before the EGoM on July 12.
One-time fee
The Ministers’ Group will also have to decide on the one-time fee to be paid by the incumbent players. The DoT wants to charge all operators a fee for the entire spectrum they hold. The move is aimed at making the playing field level but the Finance Ministry and the Planning Commission have opposed this idea.
The DoT has also extended the deadline for receiving bids from companies who want to take up the auctioneer’s job. The auctioneer will now be finalised by July 26 instead of 10 July earlier. This is the second time the DoT has revised its timeline.