Indian 2G auction recommendations finalised

Indian 2G auction recommendations finalised

Recommendations by an Indian government panel for the rules of the country’s long awaited 2G spectrum re-auction have been finalised, according to Telecoms Minister Kapil Sibal.

Among the measures discussed by the panel were the auction’s pricing, which India’s regulator previously said should be set at a price of more than 10 times the amount operators paid in 2008.

The panel, which was tasked with deciding the auction rules, will send its recommendations to India’s cabinet within a few weeks. The panel has the final say on all but the auction pricing, which will be decided by the cabinet.

One proposal being considered is whether winning bidders will be able to pay in installments, subject to interest.

The re-auction comes after India’s Supreme Court cancelled 122 2G licences in February due to doubts regarding the heavily criticised 2008 auction progress.

Since then there has been a wave of uncertainty in India’s telecoms market. Some less entrenched international players, like Etisalat and Batelco, decided to leave the market altogether.

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