DoT asks telcos to come with queries on proposed auction by Jan 15

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom service providers to come out with detailed questions on the proposed auctions. The companies have to respond with their questionnaire by January 15.

According to sources, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Tuesday participated in a pre-bid conference for spectrum auctions.

It is learnt that there were queries on aspects such as earnest money deposit, roll out obligations and exclusion of 5G technology in the bid document.

Last week, DoT released a notice inviting applications for the spectrum auctions in seven bands -- 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500 Megahertz (MHz) bands, and the bidding is scheduled to begin on March 1.

Last month, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal for the auction of 2,251.25 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 trillion at the base price.

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

The auctions are slated to be held in March 2021, over four years after the last spectrum auctions in October 2016. In the previous bidding, the government earned Rs 65,789 crore.