Spectrum auctions spill over to Day 5

Revenue for the government from the ongoing spectrum auction inched closer to the ₹1.5-lakh crore mark with bids amounting to ₹149,855 crore at the end of Day 4.

“Close to 71% of the total spectrum put on sale has been provisionally sold. We have received bids worth ₹1,49,855 crore till now. Tomorrow morning 24th round will start,” Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The auctions will continue on Saturday (Day 5) as players compete with each other for spectrum in 1800 MHz band in the U.P. (East) telecom circle.

On Friday, seven rounds of bidding took place, taking the total rounds in the auction so far to 23.

The government had garnered bids worth ₹1.45 lakh crore on the first day of the auction, with Day 3 closing with bids worth ₹1,49,623 crore.

The bids have crossed the expectations of ₹80,000-90,000 crore from the entire auction, as estimated by the government and analysts. A total of 72,097.85 MHz (or 72 GHz) of spectrum worth about ₹4.3 lakh crore has been put on sale, with participation from four private players — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Network.

The previous record for government revenues from spectrum sale was ₹1.09 lakh crore in the auctions held in 2015.