At the ongoing spectrum auction for 900 MHz band in three metro circles and 1800 MHz band in 22 circles, the government, after completion of 28 rounds on Thursday, has ensured revenues of around Rs.53,000 crore. Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata (900 MHz) continue to remain in focus, while companies also bid positively for at least five circles for the 1800 MHz band.
A total of eight companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Jio Infocomm, are participating in the auction. While the bidding had already crossed the government’s revenue expectations of Rs.40,000 crore, telecom officials felt that the auction for 1,800 MHz would pick up once demand for the premium 900 MHz in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata dried out.
In the 900 MHz band, against the reserve price of Rs.360 crore in Delhi, the provisional bid, on Thursday, stood at Rs.639 crore, while in Mumbai, it went up to Rs.563 crore against the reserve price of Rs.328 crore and in Kolkata at Rs.192 crore against Rs.125 crore. The five circles in which demand remained positive for the 1800 MHz band are Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh, while Gujarat, West Bengal and Bihar has already seen demand in the same band.
