The Indian government plans to hold a mobile spectrum auction in February to raise at least US$1.5bn, according to a Reuters report referring to a draft memorandum.
Last February, the country raised US$9.8bn when it sold spectrum in the 900 and 1,800…
The Indian government plans to hold a mobile spectrum auction in February to raise at least US$1.5bn, according to a Reuters report referring to a draft memorandum.
Last February, the country raised US$9.8bn when it sold spectrum in the 900 and 1,800 MHz bands to seven local operators.
The new tender process will reportedly be for frequencies in the 800, 900 and 1,800 MHz bands and several telcos are already expected to participate as some of their licences are due to expire.
This is the case for the leading carriers, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications.
These four companies won spectrum in the last auction, with Vodafone and Bharti being the top bidders.
A March 2013 auction was a disaster after only one bidder took part. Most other operators had complained prices were too high.