Bids in India’s spectrum auction are approaching €14 billion after 31 rounds.
Spectrum in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands attracted 940 billion rupees (€13.8 billion) of bids by the close of play on Monday, according to a government statement.
That figure has risen from 650 billion rupees (€9.4 billion) on Thursday, after 11 rounds.
As with previous auction updates, the government noted that there remains unsold spectrum.
Interest in the 2.1 GHz band in particular has been weak, doubtless due to the high reserve price and the fact that more spectrum in that band will be made available at a later date.
Much of the revenue generated by the auction will come from the 900 MHz band. Some of the country’s biggest telcos are battling it out to hang on to licences that will otherwise expire in the next two years.
Big guns Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications are taking part in the auction, as are smaller rivals Aircel, Uninor and Tata Teleservices.
They face stiff competition for spectrum from the eighth bidder, Reliance Jio Infocomm, which plans to enter the Indian mobile market this year.
The fact that it spent the most on auction deposits, which are linked to the amount of sp ectrum a company is eligible to bid for, suggests the firm is a serious contender in the contest.
However, India will not publish any information about the individual bidders until the auction closes.
Round 32 will commence on Tuesday morning.
