FinMin seeks 100% hike in reserve price for 3G spectrum

Date : Jan-02-2009 10:25
On Thursday, the Finance Ministry asked the Department of Telecom to double the reserve price for pan-India 3G spectrum to Rs 4,040 crore.

The Ministry of Finance, in a note sent to Siddartha Behura, Telecom Secretary, said, “The reserve price may be increased from Rs 2,020 crore to Rs 4,040 crore for a pan-India allocation of two blocks of five MHz of 3G spectrum”.

However, the Finance Ministry has asked DoT to modify the note incorporating the revised prices before bringing it to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

On the other hand, the Finance Ministry has also asked to double the reserve price for wireless broadband services to Rs 2,000 crore for pan-India allocation.

DoT early this week had issued revised schedule for auctioning the 3G spectrum. However, the sources said that the Finance Ministry has also questioned the rationale of limiting the auction of only four slots of spectrum in each circle.

Major carriers announce more fare cuts, freebies

Date : Jan-03-2009 14:58
On Friday, Kingfisher Airlines announced cut upto 65 per cent in domestic fares, while on the other hand the other airlines including IndiGo and Jet announced fresh concessions.

Kingfisher announcing the cut in the range of 21 per cent to 65 per cent, said the new tariff was effective January 1. Following the continuous fall in jet fuel prices, Air India was the first to announce an reduction up to 82 per cent in basic fare effective January 1, while rival Jet did so with effect from December 29.

IndiGo sought to lure passengers in the otherwise sagging air travel market by offering more seats for the basic price of Re 1 to Rs 99. But Jet beat Air India by announcing more concessions for its international flight with offers like free companion travel. Jet Airways has however also announced a host of offerings for international travelers. Under the offer, the return fare of Mumbai-Singapore in the Premier Class is available for Rs 1,01,250 for two persons. Along with this, a companion free offer with a return Premier ticket worth Rs 94,500 is available on the Mumbai-Hong Kong sector. Other than this route, Jet has also announced companion free offers on the Mumbai Bangkok sector at a Premier fare of Rs 57,065. In line with this, the customers may opt for similar offers on sectors such as Delhi Bangkok, Delhi-Singapore, Chennai-Singapore, and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur and Kolkata-Bangkok.

However, Kingfisher on foreign flights is yet to decide on fare cuts. Besides this, Rs 1-99 basic fare offer by IndiGo is applicable on advance purchase of at least 21 days prior to the date of travel.