Spectrum Auction Delayed: New Date Set for June 25

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has postponed the spectrum auction by 19 days to June 25. The auction will include eight spectrum bands for mobile services at a base price of Rs 96,317 crore. Major telecom companies like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are set to participate.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) announced on Tuesday the postponement of the spectrum auction by 19 days, moving the date to June 25, according to its website. Changes have been made to the notice inviting applications for bids, with the new live auction start date now set for June 25 instead of June 6.

The government plans to auction eight spectrum bands for mobile phone services at a base price of approximately Rs 96,317 crore. Spectrum available in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands are included in this auction.

Reliance Jio has led the way by depositing Rs 3,000 crore as earnest money for the auction, giving it the potential to bid for the maximum number of radiowaves. Pre-qualified bidder details from the DoT reveal that Bharti Airtel has deposited Rs 1,050 crore and Vodafone Idea (VIL) Rs 300 crore. Companies accumulate points based on their earnest money deposits, determining their ability to bid for circles and spectrum quantities. The higher the points, the greater the bidding capability. Spectrum acquired will be assigned for 20 years, with payments allowed in 20 annual installments. DoT has provided an option to surrender the spectrum after a minimum of 10 years.