Headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Empowered Group of Ministers on Spectrum (EGOM) will meet today, Monday, to decide on the issue of on one-time spectrum fee.

In its October 3 meeting, the EGOM could not take a decision on the issue of one-time spectrum for existing telecom companies as it had not received the legal opinion on the matter from the Attorney General.

Sources recently said that the EGOM would likely take a decision on the matter on Monday as the Attorney General had already submitted his view.

The EGOM has four proposals on one-time fee to decide on - no fee; impose a one-time fee on all airwaves possessed by existing operators; levy a fee on airwaves possessed beyond start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz; and impose a fee on airwaves possessed beyond contracted spectrum of 6.2 MHz.

Existing telecom companies were awarded 4.4 Mhz airwaves frequencies pan-India permits at price of Rs 1,658 crore, while new telecom companies will have to pay a minimum of Rs 14,000 crore to get hold of similar set of pan-India permits.

The matter was referred to the EGOM in July, but EGOM had deferred a decision on it due to Supreme Court's pending opinion on the Presidential Reference. As the apex court's opinion on the Presidential Reference has come, the EGOM is now free to take a decision in this regard.