The spectrum auction completed 6 rounds bringing the total to 67 rounds of bidding completed till date since the start of the auctions. The total bid amount increased from 1,02,215 crore to 1,03,046 crore.
There was no fresh demand for spectrum in 2100MHz bands in any of the 17 circles. At the end of round 67 In the 1800MHz band there was excess demand in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala circle. In the 900MHz band, there was excess demand in West Bengal circle. In the 800MHz band, there was excess demand in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and North East circles. More than 87% of the total spectrum has been provisionally allocated.
Many of the telecom operators are bidding fiercely to regain their existing spectrum holding as 29 licences of different operators are coming up for renewal in 2015-16. The licences of Idea Cellular (nine circles), Bharti Airtel (six circles) and Vodafone and Reliance Telecom (seven circles each) are due for renewal in 2015-16, which has made ongoing spectrum auction crucial for them. Overall, 29 licences in 18 service areas are due for renewal in 2015-16.
These licences hold 184MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz band and 34.2MHz in the 1,800MHz band. Seven circles -- Bihar, HP, UP west, Gujarat, Odisha and Kerala -- which are must wins for some telcos, has seen prices going up by over 100 percent
