The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Thursday is believed to have informed Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM ) on telecom that the increase in the base or reserve price for spectrum auction would result in the increase of call charges by only 5-10 paise, reports ET.

As per the presentation made by TRAI’s chairman Rahul Khullar's to EGoM, this calculation contradicts industry's claims that, if implemented, the regulator's recommendations would almost double tariffs. Khullar's predecessor J S Sarma, who had submitted the recommendations just before demitting office, had estimated that the impact could at best be 4-6 paise at its peak.

The government had asked Trai  to assess the impact of the recommendations on the consumer, government finances and corporate profitability, after the regulator held that the reserve price for 5 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band be fixed at Rs 18,100 crore, compared to Rs 1,650 crore charged by former telecom minister A Raja in 2008.