GSMA said Telecom Commission’s decision to augment reserve prices – a 36 percent increase from TRAI recommendation — for India’s 2100 MHz spectrum auction in February 2014 will have negative impact on the Indian mobile segment.
“The proposal by the Government to only put 2x5MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band up for auction, versus GSMA and TRAI recommendations to auction at least 2x20MHz of the band, risks further distorting the outcome of the auction to the disadvantage of India’s citizens,” said Tom Phillips, chief regulatory officer, GSMA.
GSMA said high auction prices will negatively impact the development of India’s mobile networks and delay investment in telecom infrastructure, resulting in higher retail prices for wireless services and an inferior mobile experience for consumers.
In 2014, the economic impact of mobile technology in India amounted to approximately $115 billion in value-added terms, representing an economic contribution of around 5.5 percent of the country’s GDP last year.
3G coverage in India reached 61 percent of India’s population in 2014. 3G coverage will grow to 90 percent by 2020. While 3G and 4G connections represented 11 percent of all mobile connections by Q4 2014, this will increase almost four-fold to 41 percent by 2020.
