Bids for wireless spectrum in India’s latest auction reached Rs446bn (US$7.1bn) after the first day, a stark contrast to last year’s auction when only one company took part in the process.
Yesterday, eight companies were in the starting blocks to…
Bids for wireless spectrum in India’s latest auction reached Rs446bn (US$7.1bn) after the first day, a stark contrast to last year’s auction when only one company took part in the process.
Yesterday, eight companies were in the starting blocks to acquire frequencies in the 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecoms unit of conglomerate Reliance Industries, joined Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Uninor, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications (RCom) in the auction.
All are eligible to bid in India’s 22 service areas apart from Vodafone and RCom, which reportedly did not submit the required documents for certain areas.
The auction is expected to provide firepower for newcomer Reliance Jio, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, which may bid aggressively to become a disruptive force in India’s crowded mobile market.
For most other operators, acquiring frequencies will allow them to either renew their expiring licences or fill their coverage gaps.
After seven rounds yesterday, bids for 385 MHz of spectrum topped more than US$7bn, already above the Rs113bn (US$1.84bn) the government was hoping to raise from the whole process. It is unclear how many more rounds are due.
The March 2013 auction failed to generate much interest after operators complained prices were too high. Eventually, the sole bidder MTS India was awarded spectrum in the 800 MHz band.
This time, although the prices are higher than those recommended by the regulator, they are lower than the ones proposed by the telecoms ministry and below the 2013 prices.
