The next round of spectrum auction which was scheduled to take place in the second week of January, will commence on January 21.

The reason for the delay is the difference of opinion on the reserve price for the 800 Mhz band between the telecom department and the TRAI and later will take 15 days submit its proposals on base price.

The notice inviting application which will be issued on December 16 and the prebid conference is scheduled for December 19. The department will draw upon the final list of bidders on January 18 and commence the auctions by January 21.

Early this month, the Telecom Commission proposed to raise the reserved price for 1800 MHz by 15% higher than recommended by Telecom Authority of India (TRAI). For 900 megahertz band, it recommended the price 25% more.

In September TRAI had recommended about 60 per cent reduction for the reserve price for spectrum in the 900 megahertz band in some important cities. It also suggested a 37 per cent cut in the reserve price for spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band.

The panel also decided to go ahead with 800 MHZ spectrum auction.