TRAI recommends reserve price for auction of FM Radio channels

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released its recommendations on the reserve price for auction of FM Radio channels.

The regulator has worked out the valuation of FM radio channels in 273 new cities as a simple mean of the three valuation approaches. The approaches are based on the population of the city, per capita gross state domestic product (GSDP), listenership of FM radio, per capita gross revenue earned by the existing FM radio operators, and market intensity index of various cities.

The reserve price for FM radio channels for each of the 273 new cities has been fixed at 80% of the valuation for each city except for the cities located in the North East (NE) region, Jammu and Kashmir for which reserve price has been fixed at 40% of the valuation for each city.

The 10 cities in other category, with a population of less than 1 lakh in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the North East, the reserve price is kept as Rs 5 Lakh for each channel of each city. The existing ceiling limit of 15% of total FM radio in the country for excluding such permission holders to participate in FM radio auction has been done away with.

The auction of remaining channels of Phase III shall be done by delinking them from technology. TRAI recommended allowing the broadcasters to use any technology for radio broadcasting. The regulator also said that incase the broadcaster uses digital technology, they should be allowed to broadcast more than one channel subject to the technical feasibility.