Spectrum auction completes 53 rounds of bidding on 8th day

The ongoing telecom spectrum auction has completed 53 rounds so far on the eight day of the bidding today that has already generated bids worth around 86 per cent of what the government got for 3G radiowaves in 2010.
The government had received bids worth Rs 58,332 crore from telecom firms as of yesterday's close in the auction for 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands.
The amount is about 86 per cent of what 3G radiowaves auction fetched in 2010, although the current round has far more spectrum for the two bands on the block. The 3G auction in 2010 had fetched the government Rs 67,718.95 crore.

"The auction of spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands that began on February 3, 2014 has completed 53 rounds as per the latest information available on the 8th day today. Auction re-commenced with the 50th round today at 9 AM. Bidding is ongoing," an official statement said.
Bids worth Rs 34,743.2 crore have been received for 1800 MHz and Rs 23,589.62 crore for the 900 MHz band.
The government will now get at least Rs 17,362.66 crore in the current fiscal from the auction in case companies opt for instalment mode.

The bidders can pay part of the money upfront and the remaining over a maximum of 10 yearly instalments.

As of yesterday, the price for 900 Mhz in Delhi was up by about 12 per cent at Rs 3,704.8 crore per 5 Mhz compared to 3G price; for Kolkata was 78 per cent higher at Rs 973.15 crore, but for Mumbai it was still lower than the 3G price by about 14 per cent at Rs 2,815.45 crore.
The government has put on the block about 385 Mhz of spectrum in the 1800 Mhz band, and 46 Mhz in 900 Mhz band.
The present auction is the largest in terms of radiowaves on sale and the third-longest in terms of duration.

The 3G auction in 2010 lasted for 34 days, broadband wireless access (BWA) ended in 16 days. The 2G auction in November 2012, on the other hand, ended in just two days, while the CDMA auction in March last year concluded the same day.
There is no time limit for the sale of spectrum and the duration of the current auction will depend on the appetite of the eight companies in the fray -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Aircel, Tata Teleservices, Telewings (Uninor) and Reliance Communications.