Telecom Spectrum Auctions 2014. Vodafone Group and Bharti Airtel won wireless telecom spectrum in metros likeDelhi and Mumbaiand several other cities.* The Department of Telecommunications(DoT) conducts auctions of licenses for electromagnetic spectrum.*.India was among the early adopters of spectrum auctions beginning auctions in 1991.*.Bidding forall licensesrequired a two stage screening process.*.In all the auction, which lasted 10 days, fetched thegovernment Rs 61,162 crore, of which Rs 18,296.36 crore will flow to the exchequer within this fiscal. The government was initially expecting only Rs 11,300 crore of revenues to come from the spectrum auction in the current year.*.Uninor won spectrum in five circlesin 1800 MHz band whileIdea got 11 circlesin the same band.*.Anil Ambani’sReliance Communicationswon just one circle of 1800 MHz in Mumbai.*.Tata Communicationsdrew blank.*.Aircelgot 5 circles.*.Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm, which surprised by entering the fray despite owingpan-India 4G spectrum, bid aggressivelyfor both the bands of airwaves on offer – the premium 900 Mega-Hertz and not so efficient 1,800 MHz, but choose spectrum only in the later bandin 14out of 22 circles.*.Vodafone, whose license in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata is due toexpire in November this year and desperately needed spectrumin the auction to continue operations, put in bids worthRs 19,600 crore to win 900 MHz airwave inthe three metros and 2G 1800 MHz spectrum in 11 circles or zones.*.Airtel,whose licenses in Delhi and Kolkatta wasdue to expire in November, won back900 MHz in both these metros and added the same in Mumbai. It also won 1,800 MHz spectrum in 15 circles. It put in total bid worth Rs 18,530 crore for a total of 115 MHz of spectrum in 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.*.Airtel said it will roll out pan-India 4G network using 1800 MHz.*.Idea was the only other company to win the 900MHz spectrum, which is capable of 3G communications, in Delhi.*.India had traditionally sold airwaves for basic mobile services through astate-selection process,but switched to an open auction in 2012 after a scandal over mis-selling of permits.*.Spectrum auctions in November 2012 and March 2013 flopped as most bidders stayed away, complaining the floor prices for bids weretoo high.*.The government was forced to sharply cut reserve prices for the latest auction. In 2010 India raised $17 billion by selling airwaves for 3G and 4G services.*.Reliance Industries already ownsnationwide 4Gairwaves fromthe 2010 auction but has yet to launch services. The latest 1800 band spectrum purchase would help it improve 4G coverage.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Feb 2014 09:42:51 +0000
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