GSM telcos seek Kapil Sibal’s intervention for 50% cut in spectrum base price

KOLKATA: Mobile phone companies on the GSM platform have sought telecom minister Kapil Sibal’s intervention to bring down the base price of airwaves by 50%, in sync with a recent Cabinet decision to halve the reserve price of CDMA spectrum.

The Cellular Operators Association of India’s (COAI) decision to approach Sibal also coincided with Norway’s Telenor claiming on Wednesday that it will not bid for spectrum in Mumbai in the upcoming March auctions if India did not reduce the base price of GSM airwaves by at least 50%.

COAI represents GSM operators such as Bharti, Idea and Vodafone among others. The top Scandinavian mobile operator has railed against “alleged differential treatment by the government” and had recently sought a 50% cut in the GSM spectrum base price.

“Telenor Group will not be able to bid for Mumbai if the reserve price of 1800 MHz spectrum is not reduced by at least 50%,” said the company .