Spectrum pricing fixed by TC too high: Sistema President

New Delhi: Mikhail Shamolin, president and CEO,  Sistema JSFC, has said that spectrum pricing fixed by the Telecom Commission is too high and CDMA model doesn’t allow to function at such  pricing.

He also said that the amount of spectrum that operators have in India, if compared to other markets is at a very narrow band, “5 mhz is extremely narrow band, in Russia we have 20 mhz and for GSM its 40 mhz, 80 mhz…so it’s exceptionally difficult to provide quality services, so every operator is looking to get more spectrum. In such a condition, we have to look at the pricing and how investment will pay us back.”

When asked that whether the Indian government will speak to Russian government on this as Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting India, he said “it’s under discussion”.

Shamolin was speaking on the sidelines of the Indo-Russian Youth Innovation Summit.

It should be noted that the highest decision-making body in telecom, Telecom Commission, has fixed higher base price of Rs 3,646 crore per MHz for the auction of 800 MHz spectrum,  the auctions for which is slated for February next year.

The Department of Telecom had suggested a base price of Rs 3,646 crore per MHz, which is 17 per cent higher than what the regulator Trai has recommended, for the auction of 800 MHz spectrum, used for offering CDMA services.

Besides, he also said that the company would be investing in the smart cities project and have built nine such projects including some of the largest projects of their kind such as the one for Moscow City and Sochi. It is also scouting for partnerships in pharma and healthcare industries and talks are in progress.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), which provides telecom services under the brand MTS along with its parent Company Sistema JSFC partnered with the Russian Federal Agency for CIS Affairs to host the first ever Indo-Russian Youth Innovation Summit.

The summit showcased the best ideas and projects discovered through MTS iNNOVATSii – an initiative by MTS in India to look for telecom ideas that can be applied in commercial, social or government spheres with a high level objective to improve the overall quality of life.