The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation paper to seek comments from stakeholders to finalise the methodology for setting reserve prices for the auction of the third batch of private FM radio frequencies, under the Phase III policy.

IN August, TRAI had been asked by the Information & Broadcasting ministry for its recommendations on the reserve prices.

Frequencies across 283 cities across the country are set to be auctioned under this phase.

These include 23 existing cities where frequencies remined unsold in the previous two phases of auctions.

Reserve price for new channels in these existing Phase-II cities was fixed as the highest bid price received for that city in Phase-II. TRAI has asked stakeholders if this methodology needs to be changed.

According to TRAI, the FM Radio sector has undergone changes in terms of technology and behaviour of radio listeners with the rise of online music platforms and lack of FM radio receivers in many new smartphones, which may negatively impact the number of FM radio listeners.

For new cities, the regulator wants to know if earlier variables adopted in 2015 – population, per capita income, listenership of FM Radio, and per capita gross revenue (GR) earned by existing FM Radio operators, are enough to determine valuation.

TRAI also believes that in order to facilitate transition from analogue to digital radio broadcasting, the auction of the remaining frequencies should be done by permitting radio broadcasters to use any technology – analogue, digital, or both, for transmission. In case this is done, it has asked if private operators should be permitted to broadcast multiple channels on single frequency.

The consultation paper has been uploaded on the TRAI website. Written comments on the consultation paper are invited from the stakeholders by November 6. Counter-comments, if any, may be submitted by November 13.