India will hold spectrum auctions from March 1, after a gap of more than four years, offering 2,251.25 megahertz worth Rs 3.92 trillion, according to a notice issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Spectrum will be offered in seven frequency bands — 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz. The spectrum bands from 3,300 MHz to 3,600 MHz, which are the 5G airwave bands, have been kept aside.
The DoT has fixed January 12 for the pre-bid conference and January 28 as the last date for seeking clarifications on its notice.
The industry had been pitching for the 4G auctions, which was last held four years ago, as some licences in the bands were expiring in 2021. The auction was approved by the Union Cabinet on December 16.
Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea are expected to lap up this offering and industry experts feel Bharti Airtel will be keen to increase sub-gigahertz spectrum to strengthen its indoor coverage. Reliance Jio will not miss out on this opportunity to enhance its footprint and Vodafone Idea will pick airwaves in the bands where its existing spectrum is due to expire.
The notice issued by DoT said: “A single auction process will be carried out for assigning spectrum blocks in various bands, however, it may be noted that the government reserves the right to use any other means to assign the spectrum as it may deem fit without assigning any reason whatsoever.”
No comments:
Post a Comment