India's spectrum auction is scheduled to start on June 25, 2024. The telecom service providers (TSP), including Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) are going to participate in the auction to acquire airwaves from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The airwaves telcos will bid for will be available for 20 years.
The Ministry of Communications announced that the following spectrum bands will go up for bidding in the upcoming auction - 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz.
What will the Telcos Bid for?
Industry analysts expect that the telcos will bid for airwaves in spectrum bands that are expiring for them in different circles. This spectrum auction isn't expected to generate huge amounts of revenue for the government as the 2022 spectrum did. The telcos already have most of the airwaves they need, and would only heavily for the 6 GHz band, if and when it is available.
Spectrum worth Rs 96,317.65 crore will be available for the telcos to bid for in the auction that starts tomorrow. If you want a more detailed read on the Spectrum Auction 2024, refer to the link below.
Read More - India Spectrum Auction 2024: Details of Spectrum Put To Auction
Since the telcos have already met the minimum service rollout obligations, they won't have to do it again with the airwaves they acquire in the upcoming auction. Vodafone Idea (Vi) also recently confirmed that it has met the minimum 5G rollout obligations set by the Indian government.
Read More - Vodafone Idea Completes Minimum 5G Rollout Obligation
The telcos want more mid-band spectrum from the government to expand the 5G rollout. Thus, they have also asked the government not to delicense the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi use, as it is important for 5G and 6G rollout in the future.
