India’s federal cabinet has approved the telecoms department’s proposal to auction spectrum this February, aiming to raise a total of Rs648.4bn (US$10.21bn).
The government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expects the auction, designed to…
India’s federal cabinet has approved the telecoms department’s proposal to auction spectrum this February, aiming to raise a total of Rs648.4bn (US$10.21bn).
The government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expects the auction, designed to promote competition in the mobile space and the rollout of services, will book about a quarter of the proceeds – US$2.52bn – this fiscal year, according to an official government statement.
Approved base prices are Rs36.46bn (US$586.72m), Rs39.8bn (US$640.45m) and Rs21.91 (US$352.57m) for airwaves in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands respectively.
A total 103.75 MHz of spectrum will be auctioned in the 800 MHz band in all Indian telecoms service areas; 177.8 MHz in the 900 MHz band in areas excluding Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Jammu and Kashmir; and 99.2 MHz in the 1,800 MHz band in areas excluding Maharashtra and West Bengal.
The government also decided that 2,100 MHz spectrum may be put up for auction simultaneously, saying details will be announced “later on”.
The country’s top four mobile operators – Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communication – all have permits close to expiring in some service areas. Last October, they called upon telecoms minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to make additional spectrum available in the auction, contending that airwaves in the 800 MHz, 900 MHZ, 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands should be tendered in a ‘big bang’ sale.
According to local media reports in late 2014, the defence ministry has agreed to vacate spectrum in the 3G-suitable 2100 MHz band.
Other operators, including the local units of Norway’s Telenor and Russia’s Sistema, are also expected to vie for bandwidth to expand into new areas.
