According to IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad the spectrum auctions which started on Monday received bids worth Rs 77146 crores from telecom operators. The minister further stated that considering the financial health of the telecom sector and the pandemic the response received is good. The auction is expected to be completed by Tuesday afternoon. The bids expected for the auction were around Rs 45000 crore which was surpassed on the first day itself. No bids came for the premium 4G band,700Mz whose reserve prices were very high.
Judging by the results of day 1 the total bids at the end of the auction will come to around Rs 85000-90000 crore. Out of the total spectrum put on sale around 75% is predicted to remain unsold. Maximum customers are attracted by 800 MHz and 2300 MHz. Reliance Jio is expected to show maximum interest towards the 800MHz as the brand’s bulk in this spectrum is coming up for renewal next year.
The operators are required to pay 25% of their total bid amount for spectrum below 1GHz and 50% for spectrum above 1GHz and the balance amount is required to be paid in installments over 16 years after a moratorium of 2 years. The government in total would be receiving an amount of Rs 13000 crore.
According to Anshu Prakash Telecom secretary, the most sought-after spectrum with more than 89% bids being placed for is the 2300 MHz. Followed by 800MHz and 900MHz receiving 65% and 35% having received bids respectively.
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