Day 6 of the spectrum auction ended with 6 rounds of bidding, bringing the total number of rounds up to 37. Though the provisional winning bid amount per block went up, the demand for blocks at the increased price was lower. As a result for the first time there was a dip in the profits for the government which fell by 2000 crores from 94,000 crore at the end of day 5 to 92,000 crore at the end of day 6.
There was no fresh bids for 2100MHz spectrum at the end of round 37. There was surplus demand in 1800MHz band in Haryana and Kolkata circles. In the 900MHz the battle continues to rage between the incumbents with surplus demand in Assam, North East, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal. In the 800MHz band there was surplus demand in Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab circles.
There was surplus demand in 1800MHz band in Haryana and Kolkata circles. In the 900MHz the battle continues to rage between the incumbents with surplus demand in Assam, North East, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal. In the 800MHz band there was surplus demand in Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab circles.
Also read: Spectrum auction 2015 Day 1 report, Spectrum auction 2015 Day 2, Spectrum auction Day 3 report, spectrum r5port Day 4, spectrum report Day 5
It appears that the operators have got their strategy clear and are focusing on 2G spectrum at the moment and trying to defend their turf in circles where their licences are expiring. Steady demand for lower frequencies and contiguous blocks denotes the focus of operators on delivering high speed data on the technologically agnostic spectrum being sold. The results of the spectrum will only be declared after the Supreme Court hearing of the incumbent’s plea on 25th March. We also hope to see the spectrum sharing, trading and leasing guidelines to be released after the auction is over and maybe a more favourable revision to merger and acquisition rules along with a clear roadmap for further availability of 2100, 2300, 2600 and 700 MHz spectrum for auction.
