The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning the next round of spectrum auctions by February 2024. The previous auction took place in mid-2022 and since then, the telcos have been busy deploying 5G. The Indian government wants one spectrum auction every financial year. As we head towards the last quarter, only three months remain for the government to hold the spectrum auction. There's a chance that the auctions could also take place in January, said a report from the TelegraphIndia.
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Telcos won't go all in on the next auction. The 2022 spectrum auction roped in Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the govt. However, it won't be the same this time. The telcos would only invest in those bands which they already own but need more of as some might be expiring shortly. Vodafone Idea will likely not invest any further in 5G spectrum bands as it is yet to utilise the airwaves it acquired during the 2022 auction.
Airtel will see spectrum expiring in some telecom circles and that is where the telco would invest. Reliance Jio is unlikely to spend even half of what it did in 2022. The reserve price for the spectrum band will be the same as the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) declined to give fresh pricing.
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Gopal Vittal, CEO of Bharti Airtel, said at the last earnings call that Airtel doesn't need any additional spectrum at the moment. The telco would only look to buy spectrum in circles where it will see airwaves expiring shortly. Jio is the only telecom operator in India that has 700 MHz band in its portfolio. Even so, no other teleco operator will look to buy the 700 MHz band because it is expensive and it won't bring any additional value to their network performance.
