TRAI wants higher CDMA spectrum price

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a reserve price of Rs 3,104 crore per megahertz for CDMA spectrum, which is 15 per cent more than the Rs 2,685 crore per megahertz it had proposed in February for the 800 MHz CDMA band. The new reserve price of Rs 3,104 crore is 72 per cent higher than the Rs 1,800 crore rate in the 2013 auction. In its recommendations in February this year, the regulator had also discussed the steady decline in the CDMA subscriber base and lower average revenue per user (ARPU) compared with GSM services. It said the Department of Telecom should take back MTNL´s entire spectrum holding in the 800 MHz band.