The shares of telecom companies fell on the domestic stock exchange after the regulator proposed a higher reserve price for the 2 G spectrum that will be auctioned to the firms.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had proposed a reserve price of Rs 3,622 crore for 1MHz of pan-India 2G spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band as against Rs 380 crore, which was set for auctions in 2008. Telecom service providers and experts say that if the recommended reserve price is accepted then this could increase costs for the players and will ultimately make service more expensive for the consumers.

Shares of country's largest telecom firm Bharti Airtel were 3.12 percent lower at Rs 302.90, while

Idea Cellular fell 3.78 percent at Rs 80.10 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The shares of Reliance Communications were trading at Rs 80.45, which is 1.29 percent lower.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) have released a joint statement saying that recommendations are shocking and described them as being arbitrary, regressive and inconsistent.