Spectrum Auction 2021: Govt. gets bids worth Rs. 77,815 Cr

In the recent spectrum auction, the government has received bids worth Rs. 77,814.80 crore by selling 855.60 MHz to three bidders – Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Vodafone Idea.

“The value of the spectrum for which there are winning bids is Rs. 77,814.80 crore. Hence, incremental bids for Rs. 668.20 crore were made today,” said Anshu Prakash, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.

Spectrum Auction 2021 Winners:
Bidder – Quantity (MHz) – Amount (Rs. Cr)
Bharti Airtel – 355.45 – 18,698.75
Vodafone Idea – 11.80 – 1,993.40
Reliance Jio Infocomm – 488.35 – 57,122.65
Source: DoT

The Spectrum Auction 2021 concluded on the second day after a total of six rounds of bidding. The e-auction was based on Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending Auction (SMRA) methodology.

Anshu Prakash informed that the bidding took place for spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz and 2,300 MHz bands. The total quantity of spectrum for which right to use has been acquired in these bands is 855.60 MHz. The participants did not bid in 700 MHz and 2,500 MHz bands. Four rounds of bidding (two each with stipulated activity levels of 80% and 90%) took place on March 1, 2021. Two rounds of bidding with stipulated activity levels of 100% took place today.”

Band-Wise Spectrum Sale:
Band – Quantity Auctioned (MHz) – Quantity Acquired (MHz) – %age
700 MHz (paired) – 660 – 0 – 0
800 MHz (paired) – 230 – 150 – 65.22
900 MHz (paired) – 98.80 – 38.40 – 38.87
1800 MHz (paired) – 355 – 152.20 – 42.87
2100 MHz (paired) – 175 – 15 – 8.57
2300 MHz (paired) – 560 – 500 – 89.29
2500 MHz (paired) – 230 – 0 – 0
Total – 2308.80 – 855.60 – 37.06
Source: DoT

Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) for the spectrum acquired in this auction will be payable at the rate of 3% of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the licensee, excluding revenue from wireline services. The auction is concluded and these provisional results are subject to scrutiny and approval by the government.

With the deployment of additional spectrum acquired in this auction, the quality of service and customer experience of telecom consumers across the country are expected to improve.