The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) looking into 3G and Wi-Max spectrum issues, has decided to auction four 5x2 MHz slots of pan-Indian 3G spectrum at a reserve price of Rs 35 billion.

For Wi-Max services, three 20 MHz spectrum slots will be auctioned at a reserve price of Rs 17.5 billion. One 2x1.25 MHz slot of evolution-data optimised (EV-DO) spectrum has been kept for CDMA players at a reserve price of Rs 8.75 billion. The government expects to get at least Rs 250 billion from the auctions, which is Rs 100 billion lower than what the finance ministry had accounted for in the 2009-10 budget.