Second day and demand remained robust for 2G spectrum. Telcos continued to haggle for airwaves as the bids crossed Rs 41,000 crore. This is against the government's target of Rs 40,000 crore. 900 Mhz spectrum band in Delhi and Mumbai were the most wanted.
Also Read: 2G spectrum: Players pulling out as price continues to rise
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal said if bids are 60-70 percent above the reserve price it shows that there is no need to worry about some sections in politics. “We hope that we will get enough revenue to make sure that the finance minister has a big smile on his face,” he added.
Below is in verbatim transcript of Kapil Sibal's interview with Malvika Jain on CNBC-TV18.
Malvika: How has the auction panned out?
A: I am getting the information from you because I have not been able to contact the secretary. In fact he told me he would let me know in about 5-10 minutes.
Things are okay. This is what I said yesterday as well, we are seeing robust competition especially in Mumbai and we are seeing interest in the 1800 Mhz band as well. You mentioned Gujarat, Western UP, there was Bihar, there was West Bengal. The auction is not yet closed. So, let's see tomorrow what happens but if it is 60-70 percent above the reserve price it only shows that we were unnecessarily worried about some sections in politics.
Malvika: In hindsight are you satisfied with the government's decision to lower the reserve price because that has given the industry an opportunity?
A: Absolutely but that should have been done much earlier. Unfortunately environment was not conducive for that. All kinds of allegations were flying here and there. So, we let things settle down and then came up with this and I think we are very happy with the way the auction is moving forward. We hope that we will get enough revenue to make sure that the finance minister has a big smile on his face.
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