The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Telecom today deferred till Friday the decision on reserved price for spectrum allocation. The EGoM which was reconstituted after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar opted out includes Kapil Sibal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Law Minister Salman Khurshid, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy as members. Home Minister P. Chidambaram is heading the EGoM.

TRAI had recommended a reserve price of .3,622 crore rupees for 1 Mhz pan-India spectrum, which is around 10 times higher than the price at which 2G licences were allocated in 2008 under then Telecom Minister A. Raja. The telecom operators have warned of a 100 percent hike in tariffs if the TRAI proposals are accepted.

According to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), telecom tariffs are expected to rise by 90 paise a minute in metros and 20-34 paise on an average across the country if the sector regulator's recommendations on spectrum pricing are accepted.

The Supreme Court on 2nd February had cancelled 122 licences issued in 2008 and asked the telecom department to redistribute these through an auction. Asked whether the EGoM would be able to take decision on spectrum allocation and pricing before the Supreme Court's August 31 deadline expires Mr. Sibal said that the discussions are continuing and a final view will be taken after completing the discussions.