Day 11: Spectrum auction bids reach Rs 1,03,046 crore

The 11th day of the ongoing spectrum auction on Monday saw robust bidding by cellular operators in the 1,800 megahertz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands, garnering Rs 1,03,046 crore for the government.

The 11th day of the ongoing spectrum auction on Monday saw robust bidding by cellular operators in the 1,800 megahertz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz bands, garnering Rs 1,03,046 crore for the government. Till Saturday, bidding had totalled Rs 1,02,215 crore.

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Till now, 67 rounds of bidding have taken place and about 87% of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders. On Monday, six rounds of bidding were completed.

Spectrum in 900 MHz (2G) is critical, especially for operators such as Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications and Idea, whose licences will come up for renewal in 2015-16.

“Majority of service areas are going at a premium over the reserve price. Bidding would recommence on Tuesday,” an official statement said after Monday’s round of bidding.