The 2G auctions are off to a good start. On the first day, atleast eight circles saw aggressive bidding for the 1800 and 900 megahertz spectrum. Eight players are in the fray to grab spectrum in 22 circles.
Also Read: Govt gets bids in all circles for both bands of spectrum
For the 1800 megahertz spectrum - Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh east and west saw fierce bidding. For the 900 megahertz spectrum, telcos were betting big on Kolkata and Mumbai circles.
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal hopes to exceed the government's target of Rs 11,300 crore and he believes this will bring a smile to the Finance Minister's face.
Below is the verbatim transcript of Kapil Sibal's interview with Malvika Jain on CNBC-TV18.
Malvika: What are your thoughts on Day 1?
A: I think it is going to be a robust auction. 900 Mhz is doing very well. I am sure that it will exceed our expectations. I would like to see a smile on the face of the finance minister.
Malvika: When you say that it is going to exceed the expectations you mean it is going to go above Rs 11300 crore for this fiscal?
A: When I say exceeds expectations it means exceeds expectations.
Malvika: How many companies have shown interest in 900 Mhz band of spectrum? Are Reliance-Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone going to be the drivers?
A: All companies have shown interest. You will see a lot of competition.
Malvika: Which are the circles in which bidding is happening above expectation?
A: We are not going to talk about the actual auction taking place and details about it because that is not fair till the auctions are on.
Malvika: There are underpenetrated areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh wherein according to industry sources we are seeing a positive response. Do you think going forward a rural telephony which has been governments agenda could also get a boost?
A: All the demand is actually coming from those areas. Where there is saturation in metropolitan areas in cities like Delhi and Mumbai you are not going to get excess demand but where the demand is sub-optimal like in Bihar and West Bengal you are going to see a lot of interest there and there will be a lot of competition. In any case all the growth that is taking place is because of the demand that is increasing in rural areas. So, if demand for other things is increasing in rural areas obviously the telecom sector will also be in demand.
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