All action seemed to have shifted to 800MHz spectrum where prices escalated by 3.5% on day 10. Persistent activity in 800MHz could be due to incumbent operators looking to acquire spectrum in select circles which can be later leveraged using e-GSM or LTE technology.
800MHz witnessed steady action in few circles, such as, Assam, North East, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, where spectrum prices have escalated by 23.7%, 15.7%, 9.3%, 6.1%, 6.1% and 3.0%, respectively. Prices for 800MHz spectrum escalated by 47.8% over the reserve price on like-for-like basis. In 3 circles for 800MHz spectrum ? Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and North East, demand continued to be in excess.
We believe that incumbent operators could be interested in 800MHz as the prices for 900MHz spectrum are high and this spectrum band has similar propagation characteristics, emerging LTE ecosystem and availability of contagious 5MHz spectrum in some circles. Although price for 800MHz spectrum has increased by 47.8%, it is still cheaper than 900MHz spectrum by 46.9% on like-for-like basis.
