Shares of telecom companies fell by as much as six per cent on the BSE, a day after regulator TRAI recommended that service providers should pay an additional one—time fee for holding spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz.
Shares of the country’s largest private sector telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, dropped nearly six per cent to touch a low of Rs. 268.85 while Idea Cellular plunged to Rs. 56.70, down five per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the early trade.
Reeling under pressure, TTML stocks were down 2.76 per cent, Reliance Communications shed 1.12 per cent and HFCL edged lower 0.09 per cent.
Yesterday, TRAI had suggested the government to price 2G spectrum on a par with 3G radio waves. This would mean existing operators would have to pay 3G rates for holding spectrum above 6.2 Mhz.
Big operators, including Bharti, Vodafone, Aircel, Idea and BSNL, have spectrum well over 6.2 Mhz in many circles.
The regulator has also proposed a cap of 10 Mhz spectrum for GSM operators and 7 Mhz for CDMA mobile companies.
