India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected on Tuesday to formally invite bidders to participate in its upcoming spectrum auction, after the government approved the base price for the frequencies.
On Monday, the cabinet gave the DoT the nod to proceed with the sell-off and said that it expects the sale of 800-MHz, 900-MHz, and 1800-MHz spectrum to raise 648.4 billion rupees (€8.56 billion) for the treasury. The estimate is in line with the sum raised by a similar auction held in February 2014.
The volume of spectrum on the block amounts to 380.75 MHz. It consists of 103.75 MHz of 800-MHz spectrum covering all 22 telecom circles; 177.8 MHz of 900-MHz spectrum in 17 circles; and 99.2 MHz of 1800-MHz spectrum in 15 circles.
The DoT has set a reserve price of INR36.46 billion (€480 million) per MHz for pan-India frequencies in the 800 MHz band. For pan-India 900-MHz spectrum e xcluding Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Jammu and Kashmir, the reserve is INR39.8 billion. Finally, a reserve of INR21.91 billion has been established for pan-India 1800-MHz spectrum excluding Maharashtra and West Bengal.
In a statement, the government said it hopes the auction will ensure efficient use of spectrum, stimulate competition, and promote the rollout of new services.
According to local press reports, the DoT’s notice inviting application (NIA) is due to be issued on Tuesday, and bidding is expected to get underway on 23 February.
Meanwhile, the government also on Monday gave its preliminary backing to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) proposal to auction 2.1-GHz spectrum alongside the other frequencies, for which it has suggested a reserve price of INR27.2 billion. The government said it will announce its decision at a later date.
