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The government’s assured revenues from spectrum auction on Monday dropped to Rs 1,05,000 crore, at the end of the 17th day of bidding. On Saturday, it stood at Rs 1,07,000 crore.
The auction will continue on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
“Brisk bidding was seen on the 17th day of bidding, with activity requirement set at 100 per cent. There is robust bidding going on in the 900-MHz and 800-MHz bands. At the end of 104th round, about 88 per cent of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders. The provisional amount committed by bidders at the end of 104th round is over Rs 1,05,000 crore. Majority of service areas are going at a premium over reserve price. The competitive bidding is expected to continue,” DoT said in a statement.
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The ongoing round of auction started on March 4. Initially, the DoT had estimated to earn Rs 80,000 crore-Rs 1 lakh-crore from the sale of radio waves.
However, the results of the spectrum auction will not be published as the Supreme Court has barred the DoT from doing so without its permission. A hearing in the apex court in this regard is scheduled for March 26.
Morgan Stanley had in a note predicted the government’s earning at around Rs 1,18,500 crore. “Operators would need a hike in tariffs of 5 paise or 15 per cent to neutralise its impact on profits. The spectrum is valid for 20 years and hence, there is a lot more certainty from a business continuity perspective. Data growth is happening at a robust pace, which should aid overall revenue growth for the operators,” it noted.
