Telecom dept to begin auctions for Rs 96,318 crore spectrum on Tuesday

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will begin the auction of Rs 96,317.65 crore of spectrum on Tuesday. With telecom operators making the lowest earnest money deposit (EMD) in the last six auction rounds, and companies announcing they will mostly focus on spectrum renewals, analysts say the auctions would be a muted affair.

On February 8, the Union Cabinet approved the auction of 10,523.15 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum across bands at a reserve price of Rs 96,317.65 crore. All unsold spectrums from the last sale will be up for bidding again. Airwaves in the 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands, covering a large chunk of voice and data spectrum, are up for sale.