Crossing the communications ministry's target, cumulative bids for spectrum in the ongoing auction have crossed Rs 1 trillion mark after 49 rounds of bidding over eight days. With this, the government is now assured Rs 1.02 trillion in revenue. Auction which began on March 4 was for selling 800, 900, 1,800 and 2,100 megahertz bandwidths. However, up-till now over 86% of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders at a value of approximately Rs 1,02,000 crore, with majority of service areas being sold at a premium over reserve price.
According to the data published by the department of telecommunications (DoT) of the last round of bidding, on Thursday, the auction showed signs of closure, with increased bidding witnessed in the 2,100MHz and 1,800MHz bands and demand in the more valuable 800MHz and 900MHz bands waning.
After six rounds of bidding held on Thursday, the 2,100MHz band saw excess demand in Assam, the North-East, Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh circles, while 1,800MHz showed activity in the Haryana and Kolkata bands. The 900MHz band had excess demand in the North-East and West Bengal circles, while 800MHz had excess demand in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Northeast circles.
A total of 380.75 MHz of spectrum is on offer in the premium 900 MHz band, 1,800 MHz and 800 MHz, while 5 MHz is up for bidding in the 2,100 MHz band across 17 out of 22 telecom areas or circles in the country. Plainly put, most of the spectrum put up for auction is at present held by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance Telecom, since these companies’ licences are expiring in 2015-16.
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