Spectrum auctions continued to see moderate demand on the fourth day of the sale, with total bids received rising to Rs 63,500 crore, sources said, adding that the government has got commitment for about 957 MHz of the over 2300 MHz of spectrum put on auction.
A total of six rounds of bidding took place on Wednesday, taking the total number of rounds to 23 so far.
The high-cost 700 Mhz band and the 900 Mhz band did not attract any bidding for fourth day running. Interest was mainly seen in 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands that can be used by operators to provide data services. At reserve price, the premium 700 MHz band on sale is worth about Rs. 4 lakh crore. Prashant Singhal, Global telecom leader at EY said, “Nearly half of 3G spectrum put up for auction is witnessing traction, though not over any premium. The operators are clearly looking to plug the coverage gap in their 3G footprint.”
