New Delhi: Clearing the way for unleashing the next generation mobile telephony, the Government on Friday decided to auction 3G spectrum at a reserve price of Rs 4,040 crore, which will be allocated to six private operators besides state-owned MTNL and BSNL.
Telecom Minister A Raja and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday to finalise the reserve price and other parameters of the spectrum auction for which, highly placed sources said, the reserve price had been fixed at Rs 4,040 crore.
However, Raja maintained that no final decision has been taken and it would be either the Group of Ministers or the Cabinet which would take a call on the spectrum reserve price, as directed by the Prime Minister.
"There are several options being discussed for the reserve price and Rs 4,040 crore, as suggested by the Finance Ministry, is one of them," he said. According to him, the decision is expected within a week.
Initially, six private operators, apart from state-owned MTNL and BSNL, would be allowed to offer 3G services that enable high-speed internet, videos and many other value-added services on the mobile phone by the end of the year.
"It will be decided either in the CCEA or the GoM directed by the Prime Minister. How can I decide?" said A Raja when asked about whether the price had been decided or not.
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