BackSpectrum auction bids top Rs96,000 crore after 43 rounds
Govt is auctioning spectrum across the 2100 MHz, 1800MHz, 900MHz and 800MHz bands
PremiumNew Delhi: India’s spectrum auction completed an additional six rounds on Wednesday, taking the total number of rounds to 43, with cumulative bids totalling around ₹ 96,000 crore.
The government is auctioning spectrum across the 2100 megahertz (MHz), 1800MHz, 900MHz and 800MHz bands. Most of the bidding is taking place in the 800MHz and 900MHz bands, while the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands are seeing muted demand.
“There is aggressive bidding going on in 1800 MHz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands. At present, over 84% of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders at a value of approximately ₹ 96,000 crore," a statement from the department of telecommunications said on Wednesday.
In the 800MHz band, there was only one circle, Madhya Pradesh, with excess demand as compared with six circles on Monday. Similarly, the 900MHz band had only three circles—Assam, North-East and Rajasthan—with excess demand.
Meanwhile, the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands saw excess demand in two circles each. Both these bands were only expected to get the attention of bidders once bidding in the other bands had settled.
The 1800MHz band, which has mostly unsold spectrum (from last year’s auction), saw excess demand in Haryana and Kolkata. The 2100MHz band, which can only allow operators to offer poorer quality (compared with 900MHz) 3G services saw excess demand in Assam and Rajasthan. As long as there is excess demand in any circle for any spectrum, the auction will continue.
Analysts expect bidding to continue for some time.
“Top telcos (Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance Communications), whose licences are set to expire in 2015-2016, will continue bidding aggressively during the ongoing spectrum auction. The auction is crucial for these operators as they might have to give up some of their existing operations in profitable areas if they are unable to acquire the desired spectrum," Rakshit Kachhal and Salil Garg, analysts with India Ratings and Research, a unit of Fitch Ratings, said in a report.
Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd, Idea Cellular Ltd and Reliance Communications Ltd rose for the second day. Bharti Airtel rose 5.97% at ₹ 389.85, Idea gained 6.4% at ₹ 163.70 and Reliance Communications was up 3.1% at ₹ 66.45, on a day the benchmark Sensex fell 0.18% to 28,659.17 points.
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