10th Telecom Spectrum Auction: A mega auction for mobile radiowaves ended on Wednesday with bids of Rs 11,340 crore, after six rounds of bidding in a process initiated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) the previous day to bolster the country's telecom infrastructure. The country's 10th spectrum auction - since the sale of radiowaves began through an online bidding process in 2010 - was in line with the government's commitment to facilitating affordable, state-of-art high quality telecom services to the citizens. The 2024 telecom spectrum auction, poised to reshape the country's telecom landscape, included bands essential for 5G services, with a total of 10,522.35 MHz across bands ranging from 800 MHz to 26 GHz going under the hammer. The auction involved eight spectrum bands: 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz.
The last spectrum auction in India was held in August 2022, wherein radiowaves for 5G services were included in a first.
Here's everything you need to know about the country's 10th spectrum auction:
1/12While Bharti Airtel spent around Rs 7,858 crore in the country's 10th auction of radiowaves, Vodafone Idea Vodafone Idea expended Rs 2,509 crore and Reliance Jio Infocomm Rs 973 crore, according to provisional figures.
2/12The 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands were valued at Rs 43,093.7 crore at their reserve prices, amounting to 44.8 per cent of the total spectrum offered.
3/12The spectrum sold in the 2024 auction will be allocated to successful bidders for 20 years.
Winners will be permitted to make payments in 20 equal annual instalments, duly protecting the net present value (NPV) at the interest rate of 8.65 per cent.
4/12The telecom spectrum acquired through the 2024 auction can be surrendered after a minimum of 10 years.
5/12Three telecom operators participated in the auction in the form of bidders:
1) Bharti Airtel
2) Vodafone Idea
3) Reliance Jio Infocomm
6/12A Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) e-auction process was followed for auctioning radiowaves under the country's 10th telecom spectrum auction.
What is an SMR auction?
It is a type of auction that involves multiple rounds of bidding taking place simultaneously for different lots/bands. Participants are able to bid on a set number of items individually within each given round.
7/12There is no Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) applicable to the spectrum acquired in the 2024 auction.
What is SUC?
The spectrum usage charge refers to the fee that telecom operators pay to the government for using the spectrum allocated to them, typically calculated as a percentage of the telecom operator's total Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) derived from telecom services.
8/12Successful bidders were not required to furnish a Financial Bank Guarantee (FBG) and a Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG).
9/12The 3300 Mhz and 26 Mhz bands are suitable for 5G services.
10/12In the run-up to June 25, mock auctions were carried out on June 3, June 13 and June 14 to familiarise the participants with the e-auction platform.
11/12The 2024 telecom spectrum auction involved 10,522.35 MHz of radiowaves - in eight bands ranging from 800 MHz to 26 GHz up - in a move that aims to enhance telecom services while promoting affordability and high-quality connectivity for telecom subscribers across the country.
12/12The last auction of telecom spectrum was held in the country in August 2022, wherein radio waves for 5G services were included for the first time.