New Delhi, June 16: The Ministries of Finance and
Telecom continue to differ over the reserve price of 3G
spectrum with the former favouring Rs 4,040 crore while latter
stuck to its estimate of Rs 2,020 crore for pan-Indian
licence.
"No consensus as of now on the base price. We discussed
various suggestions that whether we should go for uniform base
price or differentiate according to circle depending upon
commercial viability," Telecom Minister A Raja told reporters
after meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) made a detailed
presentation to Mukherjee listing out number of slabs of 3G
spectrum to be auctioned, it base prices and other details.
"We shall definitely reach a solution on the reserve
price before the presentation of general Budget on July 6,"
Raja said.
This was his second meeting with Mukherjee during the
day. Earlier, after meeting the Finance Minister in the
morning, he had said that the government may garner at least
Rs 25,000 crore from the auction of radio waves for 3G mobile,
and wireless broadband services.
"We have assured (the Finance Minister) of an early
rollout, an early auction and more revenue for the
government," Raja said.
DoT plans to auction frequency for 20 of India`s 22
telecom service areas. The exercise has been delayed after the
Finance Ministry suggested that the starting auction price of
Rs 2,020 crore be doubled.
Bureau Report
