Assured revenues from spectrum auction drop to Rs 1.01 lakh crore

Overall, 29 licences in 18 service areas are due for renewal in 2015-16

The government's assured revenues from spectrum auction came down marginally at the end of the ninth day on Friday to Rs 1,01,423 crore. On Thursday, the revenues had stood at Rs 1,02,057 crore.

Six rounds of bidding were completed on Friday, taking the total number of rounds to 55.

The biggest ever auction of spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz bands had started on March 4.

The auction is expected to go on till early next week. The government had estimated Rs 80,000-1 lakh crore from spectrum sale.

"At the end of 55th round, 87 per cent of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders. The provisional amount committed by bidders at the end of 55th round continues to be over Rs 1 lakh crore. Majority of service areas are going at a premium over reserve price. There is still spectrum, which is yet to be sold," the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated.

The ongoing auction is crucial for existing telecom players. The licences of Idea Cellular (nine circles), Bharti Airtel (six circles) and Vodafone and Reliance Telecom (seven circles each) are due for renewal in 2015-16. Overall, 29 licences in 18 service areas are due for renewal. These licences hold 184 MHz of spectrum in the 900-MHz band and 34.2 MHz in the 1,800-MHz band.

Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (west) Gujarat, Odisha and Kerala circles are 'must-wins' for some telcos, with prices going up as much as 100 per cent.

"Operators would need a hike in tariffs of around 5 paise to neutralise impact on profits. The spectrum is valid for 20 years and hence, there is a lot more certainty from a business continuity perspective. Data growth is happening at a robust pace, which should aid overall revenue growth for the operators," Morgan Stanley said in a note on Thursday.

DoT will not be able to announce the final results of the auction because of a Supreme Court order barring it from doing so without permission. A hearing is scheduled for March 26.