Hyderabad: India's first auction of telecom spectrum in five years ended on Tuesday with Rs 77,814.80 crore of airwaves being bought, mostly by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio.
Over 2,250 MHz of spectrum, that carry telecom signals, in seven bands worth nearly Rs 4 lakh crore at the reserve or start price, was offered for bidding in the auction that began on Monday.
Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash said 855.60 MHz of spectrum was bought for Rs 77,814.80 crore in the two-day auction.
As per the information available, Reliance Jio bought Rs 57,122.65 crore worth of spectrum while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea picked Rs 18,699 crore and Rs 1,993.40 crore worth of airwaves respectively.
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Bids were received in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz bands but there were no takers for the airwaves in the premium 700 and 2500 MHz bands.
Bharti Airtel has acquired 355.45 MHz spectrum across Sub GHz, mid-band and 2,300 MHz bands, whereas Reliance Jio has bought 488.35 MHz spectrum across 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2,300 MHz bands.
“Through this acquisition, Reliance Jio’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly, by 55%, to 1,717 MHz,” said the company in a statement shared with ETV Bharat.
Reasons for low revenue realisation
On being asked what contributed to low revenue realisation against a target of Rs 4 lakh crore, analysts said that it is largely due to the fact that about one-third of the spectrum being auctioned is in the 700 MHz band, which was completely unsold even during the 2016 auctions.
Elaborating on the telecom companies’ reluctance to buy 700 MHz band, analysts further pointed out that operators are unlikely to diversify into a new spectrum band that would require incremental investment in equipment when other sub-GHz bands are available at lower prices.
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Echoing similar views, Bharti Airtel said: “Despite a large amount of spectrum made available, the 700 MHz band did not get any bid from the operators as it made no economic case for them based on the high reserve prices.”
(With agency inputs)
