Bidding worth Rs77,000 cr on 3rd day of telecom auction

At the end of the third day of the telecom spectrum auction on Friday, overall bids amounted to Rs77,000 crore. This is above the estimated bids of Rs60,000 crore on the first day and Rs65,000 crore on the second.

On Friday, 17 rounds of bidding were completed, according to official sources. Eight telecom companies are fighting to win spectrum in four bands - 800-, 900-, 1,800- and 2,100-MHz.

The most aggressive bidding is being recorded in the 900-MHz band, as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications are facing cancellation of their licences in various circles as they are due for renewal.

If daily bids are taken into account, the estimated revenue is likely to go up to Rs85,000 crore, as there would be unsold spectrum in the 900-MHz band because of the structure of the auction and the conditions laid out in its notice inviting applications, including a fixed slot size for an entrant.

A few bidders are withdrawing at the last round, though the prices are rising in the 900-MHz band.

Earlier, the government had estimated a mop-up of Rs80,000 crore-1 lakh crore from the sale of spectrum.

On the second day, telecom companies had put bids worth Rs59,124 crore (on the assumption that every spectrum / block was sold) for 900-MHz spectrum across the 17 circles, an increase of 47.1 per cent compared to the total base price. On the first day, companies had placed Rs52,117 crore worth of bids for 900-MHz spectrum, 30 per cent higher than the total base price of Rs 40,233 crore.

A total of 79.58 per cent of the bids were for the 900-MHz band; the rest was for the 800-, 1,800- and 2,100-MHz bands.

At the end of the third day, overall estimated revenue from all bands stood at Rs 81,949 crore, assuming all the spectrum was sold. Revenue from the 900-MHz band was Rs 65,119 crore, a 61.89 per cent rise over the reserve price of Rs 40,224 crore.

There was increased activity in 900-MHz band and prices for the Odisha circle rose 97.6 per cent over the reserve price; for Himachal, the rise was 75 per cent and for Rajasthan, 87 per cent.

In the 800-MHz band, the estimated revenue was Rs3,305 crore, up 5.6 per cent over the reserve price. In the 1,800-MHz band, the estimated revenue stood at Rs3,305 crore, up 5.6 per cent over the reserve price. In the 2,100-MHz band, it stood at Rs8,270 crore, up 3.2 per cent.