Spectrum auction: DoT announces fresh auction date for 8 bands from May 20

The Department of Telecom on Friday said that the upcoming spectrum auction for eight bands will start from May 20. In a notification, DoT said the bands will be auctioned off by the government for mobile phone services at a base price of Rs 96,317.65 crore. The department has invited applications from all interested parties, such as Airtel, Vi and Reliance Jio, for the same. Companies seeking to buy spectrum can apply till April 22. 

In February this year, the Union Cabinet approved these auctions, while allowed interim allocations to telecom operators. The DoT has included the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3500 MHz, and 26 GHz bands for the auction.

The final list of the bidders will be announced on May 9, 2024. The DoT will conduct a mock auction on May 13 and 14 while the actual sale will commence on May 20. The bidders will have to make the payment for the spectrum they bid for within 10 calendar days from the issue of the demand note.

The other option would be to pay the amount in equal instalments for 20 years with interest to protect the net present value (NPV). The applicable interest rate will be 8.65%.

The spectrum that is available in this auction will not attract any spectrum usage charges (SUC). The duration for which the bidders can acquire the spectrum will be 20 years from the effective date subject to payments as per schedule in demand note.

The spectrum acquired through the auction can be shared by any telecom service provider (TSP) after one year from the date of 'frequency assignment'. Further, the spectrum can be leased and surrendered by the TSP if needed. 

In the last spectrum auction in 2022, the government had put a total of 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum for auction with a validity period of 20 years. Jio was the top buyer with total spending of over Rs 88,078 crore towards 5G spectrum. Bharti Airtel was second in line with Rs 43,084 crore, followed by Vodafone Idea at Rs 18,799 crore.

Of the three companies, Vodafone Idea is yet to launch 5G services in the country, whereas Airtel and Jio are near completion of 5G rollout.

Last year, DoT identified new bands in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz. But these bands were not brought under the upcoming auctions.