Spectrum Auction 2024 Day 1: Telcos Bid for Rs 11,000 Crore Worth of Airwaves

The Spectrum Auction Day 1 concluded on June 25, 2024. According to the data published by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), on day 1, telcos bid for airwaves totalling Rs 11,000 crore. This means it is what every analyst and industry expert was expecting, the telcos are not going to bid heavily for airwaves. The focus of the telcos on Day 1 was on the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2500 MHz. A total of five rounds of bidding took place on Day 1, and the auction will continue on Day 2, which is today, June 26, 2024.

• Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
• 
• 

The auction is unlikely to proceed to Day 3 for bidding. Telcos already have most of the airwaves they need to deploy commercial 4G and 5G services. For Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi), this auction is primarily to get airwaves for telecom circles where their existing spectrum portfolio is expiring. The telecom operators will get the spectrum for 20 years, and they will have the option to either pay in full immediately or pay it in instalments for 20 years with an interest rate of 8.65%.

Read More – India Spectrum Auction 2024 Starts With 10,522.35 MHz Across 8 Bands

The government didn’t include the 600 MHz or 700 MHz airwaves in this auction. In India, currently, only Reliance Jio has access to the 700 MHz band in all telecom circles. Jio acquired 10 MHz of airwaves in the 700 MHz band in all circles to offer 5G. It will offer users a superior coverage experience with 5G, not necessarily very high-internet speeds.