Spectrum Auctions

Mock auction kicks off on Tuesday, real bidding starts June 6

While Jio has fronted the highest earnest money deposit, it is not expected to bid the most

Jio is expected to take the lead in the auction once again, with plans to bolster its spectrum portfolio, particularly in the 800 MHz band across certain circles

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has deferred the spectrum auction by 17 days to June 6 as per the amendments made in the notice inviting application for the bids on Wednesday. The department has also reduced bank guarantee and guarantee for earnest money deposit, in a move to ease liquidity for the bidders. According to the amendment, the new date for "start of the live auction" has been changed to June 6 -- after the announcement of the Lok Sabha results -- from May 20. The mock auctions will now be held on June 3 instead of May 13 and 14. The government will auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of about Rs 96,317 crore. The DoT has also reduced the number of blocks for auction in the 900 Mhz band in the West Bengal circle to 44 from 48 blocks that were proposed earlier. The validity of bank guarantee for earnest money deposit (EMD) in the form of bank guarantee will be valid for less period till September 30, 2024 instead of December 31, 2024,

The government seems to have resisted raising the reserve prices of usually sought-after spectrum bands in key telecom circles

Bharti Airtel has prepaid Rs 8,325 crore to the Department of Telecom towards part prepayment of the deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in the 2015 auction, the company said on Tuesday. Bharti Airtel won spectrum worth Rs 29,129.08 crore in the auctions that were held in March 2015. The company had paid Rs 11,374.7 crore, while the upfront amount due was Rs 7,832.20 crore. "Bharti Airtel has prepaid Rs 8,325 crores to the Department of Telecom (Government of India) towards part prepayment of the deferred liabilities pertaining to spectrum acquired in the auction of the year 2015, which were at an interest cost of 10 per cent," the company said in a statement.

DoT officials were quoted as saying that satcom airwaves should be given to the highest bidder since several firms are trying to enter the market

Stakeholders can still make suggestions via the consultation paper

India will be the first country to auction spectrum for satellite communication, and it should be designed to attract investments in the sector, telecom regulator Trai chairman PD Vaghela said on Tuesday. Speaking at a Broadband India Forum summit on SatCom, Vaghela said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will soon make recommendations to make permissions required for satellite communication from various ministries -- Information and Broadcasting, Space and Telecom -- seamless to enhance ease of doing business in the sector. He also said Trai has received a reference from the Department of Telecommunication for the spectrum required to be put to auction and associated aspects of satellite-based communication. "I think India will be the first to handle the issue of auctioning the space base spectrum. We are working on it," Vaghela said. Trai will be coming out with some sort of model for the auction of space spectrum, he added. "But it should not kill the sector. That

Moody's also expects operators to opt for deferred spectrum payments, thus helping to mitigate the effect on liquidity and cash flows

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A total of 2308.80 MHz spectrum is being put to auction, out of which there have been bids for 849.20 MHz so far, Ministry of Communications said in a statement

Spectrum will be offered for assignment for a validity period of 20 years

Telecom operators will need to submit their application by February 5 for participation in the auction

Telecom firms like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Tuesday participated in pre-bid conference for spectrum auctions

Spectrum will be offered in seven frequency bands - 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz

Telecom operators will need to submit their application by February 5 for participation in the auction

The DoT was expected to issue the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for the auction in December but due to an emergency engagement of a top authority it got delayed

This will be for merely renewing all the spectrum that expires in the 800, 900 and 1800 bands next year

he upcoming spectrum auction to be held in March may not see aggressive response from the industry, and bids may be in the range of Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore for the radiowaves