India has launched its largest ever spectrum tender. The 1,800 MHz and 2,300 MHz bands, for provision of 4G services, saw the highest bidding interest after five rounds on 1 October, ET reports, citing data released by India’s Department of Telecom (DoT). Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio Infocomm have placed bids worth a total INR 535.3 billion.
The 700 MHz band failed to attract bidders in the first day of auction. The 700 MHz spectrum is on sale at a reserve price of INR 114.8 billion per MHz.
The Indian government expects to raise a record INR 5.56 trillion (approximately USD 83 billion) in this spectrum auction. The figure represents a 4-fold increase compared to the INR 1.1 trillion raised by the Indian government in India’s last spectrum auction carried out in 2015.
The 2,300 MHz band frequencies on offer saw the fiercest bids from Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone. The band attracted bids worth a total INR 153.9 billion, according to an unnamed source cited by the newspaper. In the 800 MHz spectrum, bidders focused on four circles, namely Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh East.
Starting 3 October, each round will last 60 minutes, compared to 90 minutes on 1 October.
In its current auction, India is offering 2,354.55 MHz of spectrum in seven bands including 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz, 900 MHz and 2,100 MHz.
