India's Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued its recommendations on the valuation and reserve price of spectrum, following a consultation. Trai recommends that before the upcoming auction, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) publish a clear roadmap indicating the amount of spectrum that will be available in the future, along with time lines for release, so that licensees whose licences are due for renewal in 2015-16 can make informed decisions about bidding for spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Trai further recommends that there should be no reservation of spectrum for the renewal of existing licences in the 900 or 1800 MHz bands. The recommendations also list additional roll-out obligations and reserve prices for spectrum. Spectrum in the 1800 MHz band starts at INR 50 million per MHz in the Jammu & Kashmir circle and goes up to INR 1.75 billion per MHz in the Delhi circle. The 900 MHz spectrum starts at INR 1 billion per MHz for the Kolkata circle and reaches INR 2.88 billion per MHz in the Delhi circle.
