Telecos allowed to raise ECBs to pay for 2G spectrum
MHz of airwaves for all the 22 telecom zones.
The auction-based price is more than seven times that the carriers paid in earlier sales where airwaves were bundled with telecom permits.
Airtel and Vodafone are among the telecom biggies that have applied to bid in the auction, but Reliance Industries and Russia's Sistema surprised by staying away. Airtel and main rival Vodafone have only bid for additional spectrum in select few circles. Other players in the fray are Videocon, Telenor and Idea.
The Reserve Bank, the official said, would soon be issuing the detailed guidelines for relaxing the ECB norms.
India allows telcos to refinance airwave auction debt with offshore loans
(Reuters): The Indian government on Friday allowed
telecommunications companies to raise loans from offshore markets to refinance local debt for funding an airwave auction that starts on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of India will issue a formal notification on this within a week, a government statement said.
India is selling second-generation mobile phone airwaves for the first time through an auction after a court order.
The base price for the auction has been set at more than seven times what carriers paid in earlier state grant process.
