The Indian government has told radio operators that the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Phase III auctions of FM licenses will be accepted.

Exchange4media.com reports that the announcement came in a letter to radio operators by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry.

Phase III will see 839 FM channels across 294 cities put up for auction in the latest round of private FM expansion in the country.

In February, TRAI had recommended increasing the license period to 15 years and reducing the base price of migration fees, the fees existing players will play to transfer their licences under phase III.

The Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI) confirmed receiving the government’s letter.

Uday Chawla, Secretary General, AROI told exchange4media: “Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has indicated in writing that the TRAI recommendations on Phase III migration have been accepted.”

The process of Phase III auctions has been delayed several times in the past by the government.