Cancellation of 74 licences can fetch govt about Rs 15,000 cr

Cancellation of 74 telecom licences, as recommended by regulator Trai, willfree 210 Mhz of 2G spectrum which can fetch the government about Rs 15,000crore at a time when the finance ministry is struggling to find new avenues tomop up more revenues.

Trai has recommendedcancellation of 74 licences, including Unitech Wireless's 8, Aircel/Dishnet's7, Etisalat DB's 2, Videocon's 4, Spice's 3, Vodafone's 1, among others.

Going by Trai's recommendedcircle-wise price of each Mhz of 2G spectrum, the government will get a littlebelow Rs 15,000 crore if the spectrum vacated due to cancellation of licencesis sold.

Sources, however, said thatauction route may even fetch better price to the government.

There are, however, differencesbetween Trai and the Telecom Ministry over the number of licences, issued sinceDecember 2006, liable to be cancelled for missing roll-out obligations.

The Telecom Ministry hasidentified only 15 licences which need to be cancelled as per the licence termsand conditions.

Spectrum will be vacated in therange of 4.4 Mhz to 20.1 Mhz in different circles, says Trai in itscommunication to the Telecom Ministry.