Spectrum auction in India will be delayed. As per the new announcement from the telecom ministry, spectrum auction will start on 3 February.
The delay by 10 days from the original schedule is a setback to the government.
The telecommunications ministry will auction airwaves in the 900 and 1800 megahertz frequency bands in the auction, which is crucial for telecom service providers such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India. These operators are looking to buy spectrum in some key cities.
The government did not give a reason for the delay in a revised auction schedule posted on the telecommunications ministry’s website, but it has yet to take a decision on a change recommended by the sector regulator in the annual fee carriers pay for using spectrum.
Earlier, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Uninor had urged the government to decide the annual spectrum fee before the start of the auction.
The government is looking at mobilizing about 110 billion rupees from the auction. Prospective bidders will have to submit applications by January 15 to participate in the auction, according to the new schedule.
Videocon Telecom’s spectrum plans
Earlier, Videocon Telecom said it will bid for additional 2 Mhz spectrum each for the Punjab and Madhya Pradesh including Chhattisgarh telecom circles.
Earlier, the company announced that it would look at Delhi circle as well.
The reserve price for the planned 2 Mhz spectrum in both the circles is approx Rs 194 crore.
Videocon Telecom, which currently holds 4.4 Mhz spectrum in Punjab and 5 Mhz spectrum in Madhya Pradesh including Chhattisgarh telecom circles is eyeing bigger customer market share and revenue market share, and this bid will be its move in the direction of accommodating a larger pie of the customer base.
Videocon Telecom, which has a liberalized license in 6 of its 7 license areas, will soon roll out 4G on FD-LTE technologies. The additional spectrum in Punjab telecom circle, being a liberalized one, will also give the telecom operator the option to offer 4G services using the narrowband FD technology in Punjab as well.
