Spectrum Auction: Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vi Bid Worth Rs. 77,146 Crore On Day 1

The Government is likely to achieve more revenues from the ongoing spectrum auction as it has received a good response on the first day. The Government has managed to garner bids worth Rs. 77,146 crore as against the expected amount of Rs. 45,000 crore. However, bidding happened in only 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands, which means 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands remain unsold on the first day of the auction.

"In 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands, bidders are required to pay 25 percent of the final bid amount as an upfront payment. In the rest of the bands, bidders are required to make a payment of 50 percent of the final bid amount upfront. The balance amount (after upfront payment) will be payable in 16 equated annual installments after a moratorium of 2 years," the Department of Telecommunication said while announcing the details of the auction.

DoT Take On The Ongoing Spectrum Auction And 5G Trials

Besides, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the ministry is expecting a payment between Rs. 12,000 crore to Rs. 13,000 crore from private telecom players in this and FY22. He added that this is surprising as it is against our expectation or estimates of Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 7,000 crore this financial year.

The DoT said that 80 percent of the bidding has completed in the first two rounds of the auction, while 90 percent of the auction happened in the two rounds. The Government expects that there will be two more rounds and the auction is expected to conclude today (Tuesday).

Notably, the officials from the ministry said that TRAI will again look at both 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands; however, they did not comment on lowering the price of the bands. Furthermore, the Government is planning to come up with 5G trials or testing in the country.