Regions

A panel from India's Ministry of Telecoms had recommended the minimum price for the auction of wireless airwaves be lowered by one third of its price. This move was confirmed by a government official.

The said panel recommended the base price for 900 megahertz spectrum in New Delhi be at INR3.6 billion or USD58 million. The said pricing was confirmed by the government source, but sought anonymity as the rules prohibited such disclosures. During the last auction held in March, the price for the city's spectrum was pegged at INR9.7 billion, as confirmed by the website of the Indian Department of Telecommunications.

These recommendations came after the auctions recently conducted fell below government set targets. This was the means that Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram aimed to narrow the budget deficit to a manageable 4.8% of gross domestic product. There were major players who did not participate in the said auction held last March, namely Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's largest mobile phone carrier and Vodafone Group Plc.