Trai invites comments on auction pricing for FM radio in hilly areas

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper to determine the reserve price for auctioning FM radio channels in 18 new cities in hilly areas under the FM Phase III policy.

The consultation paper follows the information and broadcasting ministry’s reference to the TRAI. The ministry has proposed the creation of category E for the 18 new cities in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Nine of the cities are in J&K, seven in Himachal Pradesh and two in Uttarakhand. The ministry had also requested the telecom regulator to recommend the reserve price for Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and Rourkela (Odisha).


Overall, the ministry has suggested expansion of FM radio in 20 new cities in the two states and the Union Territory of J&K. However, the TRAI had provided the reserve price for Anantnag in J&K in 2020, and Rudrapur in Uttarakhand falls under category D since its population exceeds 100,000.

In its reference to the TRAI, the ministry said that the government wants to expand the reach of FM radio in uncovered areas. The determination of the reserve price is the first step in that direction.

In the consultation paper, the TRAI asked the stakeholders if the reserve price for 18 cities in hilly areas should be Rs 5 lakh since these cities are similar to cities in the ‘others’ category under FM Phase III policy.

The regulator also asked if the multiplication factor of 0.7 should be used for estimating the reserve price from the average valuation of FM radio channels.
Stakeholders have been requested to send written comments to the TRAI by August 29. Counter comments, if any, can be submitted by September 12.

In its letter to the regulator, the ministry proposed that all technical parameters applicable to category D cities, except for effective radiated power (ERP), may apply to category E cities. For category E, the ministry has proposed the ERP of 750 watt to 1 kilowatt.

As of March, there were 388 operational private FM radio channels in 113 cities operated by 36 private FM radio operators. The consolidated advertising revenue of these 388 FM radio channels stood at Rs 492 crore.