DoT to favour TRAI recommendations on 3G  

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has given a positive nod to the
recommendations submitted by the telecom regulator on the auction of 3G
spectrum. 

The department working on finalising the allocation of 3G-spectrum policy for
the telecos, the DoT coordination committee is likely to come up with favoring
the regulator's recommendations. The Department is planning to come up with
the final policy on 3G by December.

The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had announced the
recommendations of the allocation of 3G spectrum on October 5. The regulator had
recommended a base price for allocation of spectrum for 3G at Rs 80 crore for
Delhi and Mumbai, Rs 40 crore for Chennai and Kolkata and Rs 15 crore for other
C category cities. 

DoT official sources say that the Ministry of Communications has also favored
the recommendations for pricing of spectrum. “We are favouring the
recommendations made by TRAI. However, we will have to work out the pricing for
allocation. Through this pricing model, DoT would generate a revenue of around
Rs 1400 crore from the base price for allocation of spectrum to the telecos,”
the source said. 

Ministry of Communications has also given a positive signal to the
recommendations filed by the regulator.Minister for Communications and IT,
Dayanidi Maran had also proposed to launch 3G mobile services in the second half
of 2007.