Spectrum auction: Telcos place bids worth Rs 77,000 crore on Day 1

Revenue garnered from 4G auction may be much lower than reserve price set at Rs 3.92 trillion

The Centre is likely to garner revenues beyond its muted expectation from 4G spectrum auction which began on Monday, but the mop-up would be a fraction of the Rs 3.92-trillion worth of airwaves put up for sale. Coming five years after the 2016 auctions, the much-awaited 4G spectrum bidding, where Reliance Jio emerged as the most active participant, has assured the government revenues of more than Rs 77,000 crore in four rounds on day one itself.

Likely to be one of the shortest spectrum auctions in recent times, officials said the process could be wrapped up as early as Tuesday in