Three Major Bidders, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio Infocomm, to Participate in Spectrum Auction.
New Delhi: The Centre declared on Tuesday the commencement of spectrum auction valued at ₹ 96,238.45 crore for telecom services. The Ministry of Communications revealed that 10,522.35 MHz of spectrum across various bands are being auctioned at reserve prices.
The spectrum bands slated for bidding include 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz. Bidding begins at 10 a.m. with participation expected from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio Infocomm.
“The government is conducting this auction to bolster existing telecom services and ensure service continuity,” stated the ministry. The 1800 MHz spectrum band carries a reserve price of ₹ 21752.4 crore, followed by the 800 MHz band at ₹ 21,341.25 crore.
This initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to providing affordable, high-quality telecom services to all citizens, the ministry emphasized. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated the spectrum process on March 8.
Successful bidders will secure spectrum for 20 years and can make payments in 20 equal annual installments, safeguarding the Net Present Value (NPV) at an interest rate of 8.65 percent. Spectrum acquired in this auction can be surrendered after a minimum of 10 years, with no Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) applicable, as per the ministry’s announcement.
