Spectrum auction: Telcos place bids worth Rs 77,815 cr; Jio biggest buyer

The auction of telecom spectrum concluded on Tuesday and airwaves worth Rs 77,814.80 cr were bought in two days, Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash said on Tuesday.

The official said spectrum auction concluded on Tuesday at 12.45 pm after 6 rounds of bidding. Bids were received in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz bands but there were no takers for the airwaves in the premium 700 and 2500 MHz bands.

About one-third of the spectrum being auctioned is in the 700 MHz band, which was completely unsold during the 2016 auctions.

Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) for the spectrum acquired in this auction will be payable at the rate of 3 per cent of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the licensee, excluding revenue from wireline services.

Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest buyer, placing orders for Rs 57,122.65 cr of spectrum. The company had placed bids for 488.35 MHz spectrum in the auction. It said the acquired spectrum was in all 22 circles across India. 

"Jio has revolutionised the digital landscape of India with the country becoming the fastest adopter of Digital Life. We want to ensure that we keep on enhancing experiences, not only for our existing customers, but also for the next 300 million users that will move to digital services. With our increased spectrum footprint, we are ready to further expand the digital footprint in India as well as get ourselves ready for the imminent 5G rollout," Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries said.

"Through this acquisition, Jio's total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly, by 55 per cent to 1,717 MHz," the company said.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea Ltd (VI) bought spectrum worth Rs 1,993.40 cr in the auction. It had placed bids for 0.8 MHz spectrum in the auction. VI said the spectrum acquired by it is in five circles and will help boost 4G coverage and capacity.

Bharti Airtel in a seperate statement on Tuesday said it has picked up radiowaves worth Rs 18,699 crore in the auction.

Airtel said the spectrum acquired through the latest auction will also help improve its coverage in villages by offering the superior experience to an additional 90 million customers in India.

The company added that despite the large amount of spectrum made available, the 700 MHz band bands did not get any bid from the operators as it made no economic case for them based on the high reserve prices.

Over 2,250 MHz of spectrum, that carry telecom signals, in seven bands worth nearly Rs 4 trillion at the reserve or start price, was offered for bidding in the auction that began on Monday.