Skip to main content

Sistema’s India bags spectrum for Rs.3,639 crore

by sagarmedia on March 13, 2013
Russian conglomerate Sistema’s Indian unit, on Monday, won telecom spectrum in eight circles or zones for Rs.3,639 crore in an auction shunned by all other companies.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL) bid to recover airwaves it lost when the Supreme Court last year scrapped 122 wireless mobile permits amid graft charges.
Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar said the auction ended in just three rounds with lone bidder SSTL putting in bids at the minimum bid price, which had already been cut by about half after no companies bid for the band in November.
In all, 24 blocks in eight telecom circles or zones were allocated out of 61 blocks that were put for auction. “In other words, 40 per cent of the spectrum that was put for auction has been won,” he said.
“In value terms, the value of the spectrum which has been won is around Rs.3,639 crore, which represents little over 56 per cent of the value of spectrum put for auction,” he said.
The government may not get any upfront payment as Rs.1,626 crore has to be adjusted against the license fee SSTL had paid in 2008. The licences cancelled by the apex court included 21 of SSTL.
The auction results may dampen Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s efforts to garner a reduced Rs.19,400 crore from the spectrum sale this fiscal. He had previously targeted Rs.40,000 crore from spectrum auction to cut the budget deficit. None of the 12 telecom operators in the world’s second-largest mobile phone market, including Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, participated in the auction as most of them considered the reserve or auction start price set by the government as too high.
SSTL, which operates on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) platform, said it won spectrum in 800 MHz band in Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal.
“Given the range of variables we have considered and the spectrum cost for 800 MHz, it was a big challenge to arrive at a core list of eight circles and to bid accordingly,” SSTL President and CEO Vsevolod Rozanov said in a statement.
The firm had deposited Rs.613.75 crore for the auction, which made it eligible to bid for the minimum quantum of 2.5 Megahertz spectrum (two blocks of 1.25 Mhz airwaves frequency) in 11 circles.
SSTL bid for only eight circles, which means, it will have to close operations in Mumbai, Maharashtra and U.P. East, where the company has over 15 lakh subscribers.
The company would be required to pay Rs.3,639 crore for the licence period and the terms include payment of 25 per cent of the final bid amount within ten days, followed by a payment moratorium until March, 2016.
However, the company is likely to opt for full adjustment of Rs.1,626 crore after which it will be required to pay the balance amount in ten annual installments from March, 2016.
Mr. Chandrashekar said the Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Mr. Chidambaram, would meet soon on the future course of action on unsold spectrum, including GSM

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Assembly Elections 2017  Uttar Pradesh  (403/403) Punjab  (117/117) Goa  (38/40) Party Lead Won Total SP+INC 38 28 66 BJP + 193 119 312 BSP 10 10 20 RLD 00 01 1 Others 03 01 4 Party Lead Won Total SAD+BJP 01 16 17 INC 04 74 78 AAP 00 20 20 BSP 0 0 0 Others 00 02 2 Party Lead Won Total BJP 02 12 14 INC 01 13 14 AAP 0 0 0 MGP + 00 03 3 Others 00 07 7 Uttarakhand  (70/70) Manipur  (60/60)   Party Lead Won Total INC 04 07 11 BJP 15 42 57 BSP 0 0 0 UKD 0 0 0 Others 01 01 2 Party Lead Won Total INC 09 16 25 BJP 06 18 24 AITC 0 01 1 NPF 01 03 4 Others 02 04 6  
RB and Save the Children launch productsto reduce child deaths from diarrhoea 25 MAR 2015 Leave a comment by  newdelhisamachara   in  Uncategorized   Edit New Delhi. 25 March 2015 The global partnership between RB and Save the Children today launched a unique and ground-breaking programme to help eradicate child deaths from diarrhoea. The partnership unveiled two innovative new hygiene and sanitation products by RB (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser) alongside Save the Children’s sustainable Stop Diarrhoea programme in India, Pakistan and Nigeria – aimed at preventing, controlling and treating the unnecessary killer. The combination of RB’s expertise in product development and research, and Save the Children’s experience of delivering life-saving work will help save thousands of young lives a year. Funded by RB, the Stop Diarrhoea programme, will for the first time fully implement the World Health Organisation and UNICEF 7-point plan to ensure c...
Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge address on the train blast in Chennai 1 05 2014  Railway Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge, expressing shock over the incident, announced Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the family of the woman killed in the explosion.  He said Rs 25,000 will be given to those seriously injured and Rs 5,000 to those with minor injuries.  Kharge said the Railway will bear the entire treatment expenses of the injured.  Commissioner Railway Safety (southern circle) S K Mittal will conduct an inquriy into the incident, Railway Spokesperson Anil Saxena said.  Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who is in Himachal Pradesh for campaigning for Congress candidates, said, “I have directed my officials to provide all assistance to the state government”.  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemns Chennai blasts, says the act highlights desperation and cowardice of those responsible.  Two minor-intensity bomb blasts on Thursday ro...