Spectrum auctions end after 115 rounds; 11% airwaves unsold
26 March 2015 5:40 AM IST
The Department of Telecom (DoT) will disclose details of the results and names of successful bidders after the Supreme Court’s permission as cases are pending before the Apex Court. The spectrum auction included airwaves held by nine licences of Idea Cellular, seven each of Reliance Telecom and Vodafone and six permits of Bharti Airtel that were expiring in 2015-16.
These airwaves mostly included frequencies in 900 Mhz band and 1800 Mhz band. Government also auctioned airwaves in 1800 Mhz band that remained unsold in 2014, and 800 Mhz or CDMA band frequencies that were left after sale in 2013.
While Idea, Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications participated in the auction mainly to defend their existing spectrum holdings, Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices, Telewings (Uninor) and Aircel participated to buy additional spectrum. At the minimum or auction start price, the total value of spectrum in 2,100 Mega-Hertz band stood at about Rs 17,555 crore and that of 800 MHz, 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz bands was about Rs 64,840 crore.
The price of airwaves in 800 Mhz and 900 Mhz has seen significant rise over the value fixed by the government. The price of 800 Mhz spectrum, currently being used for CDMA, saw about a two-fold rise over the base price across various telecom service areas in the current auctions.
These airwaves mostly included frequencies in 900 Mhz band and 1800 Mhz band. Government also auctioned airwaves in 1800 Mhz band that remained unsold in 2014, and 800 Mhz or CDMA band frequencies that were left after sale in 2013.
While Idea, Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications participated in the auction mainly to defend their existing spectrum holdings, Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices, Telewings (Uninor) and Aircel participated to buy additional spectrum. At the minimum or auction start price, the total value of spectrum in 2,100 Mega-Hertz band stood at about Rs 17,555 crore and that of 800 MHz, 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz bands was about Rs 64,840 crore.
The price of airwaves in 800 Mhz and 900 Mhz has seen significant rise over the value fixed by the government. The price of 800 Mhz spectrum, currently being used for CDMA, saw about a two-fold rise over the base price across various telecom service areas in the current auctions.
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