The
biggest-ever auction for telecom spectrum in India will start from September 29, putting on sale mobile airwaves worth around INR 5,600bn at the base price value, the government said on Monday. The amount of spectrum to be auctioned is more than any of the previous auctions and we believe that it will give an opportunity to bidders to acquire chunks of spectrum that will enable them to provide good quality service as per international benchmarks.
The total amount proposed to be auctioned is in 126 offerings of 2,354.55MHz in the upcoming auctions. This includes the spectrum as per TRAI recommendations ? 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2300 Mhz ? and also the spectrum that has become available through the harmonization process, he said. For the first time, the government has also promised to assign spectrum within 30 days of making an upfront payment by successful bidders, compared with four-five months earlier.
As per rules, telecom operators winning spectrum in 700MHz, 800MHz and 900 MHz bands will have to pay at least 25% of the bid amount within 10 days of the conclusion of the auctions. The rest will have to be paid in 10 annual installments after a two-year moratorium. For the other bands, at least 50% will have to be paid.
