Spectrum auction concludes after seven rounds, govt revenue seen at over Rs 11,300 cr

Bharti Airtel has emerged as the biggest bidder in the auction

The 5G spectrum auction worth Rs 96,000 crore concluded on June 26 after seven rounds with bids worth over Rs 11,300 crore from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

Airtel emerged as the biggest spender in the 5G auction. The Sunil Mittal-led telco has spent Rs 8,000-Rs 9,000 to buy airwaves in the efficient sub-GHz 900 MHz band as well as those in the 1800 and 2100 MHz bands, sources said.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has possibly acquired spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2500MHz bands worth Rs 1200-Rs 1500 crore, they added.

Both telcos have largely bought spectrum in telecom circles where their permits are coming up for renewal. Airtel, however, has also bought fresh spectrum in the 900 MHz band.

The telecom department has put over 10,500 Mhz spectrum in eight frequency bands - 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz, valued at Rs 96,238 crore at base price, for auction.

Also read: Spectrum auction to catalyse rapid rollout of 5G services, says COAI

Telecom operators placed bids worth Rs 11,000 crore on the first day of the spectrum auction that saw five rounds of bidding, sources said.

Telecom expert Parag Kar estimates 1800 Mhz band drew bids worth Rs 6,306.4 crore, 900 Mhz attracted bids worth Rs 4,465 crore and 2100 Mhz saw bids worth Rs 360 crore on Day 1.

During the last auction in 2022, which turned out to be a seven-day affair, a record over Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of 5G telecom spectrum was sold, with billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio emerging as the top bidder, cornering nearly half of all the airwaves (worth Rs 88,078 crore).

At that time, telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs 43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea bought Spectrum for Rs 18,799 crore.

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.