2016 Spectrum Auction Starting from Oct 01,2016 - Seven Telcos to Bid in Upcoming Spectrum Auction

Seven telecom service providers have qualified to bid for the upcoming biggest-ever airwaves auction starting from October 1, 2016 according to official data released by the Department of Telecommunications.

The companies that have qualified for the auction are -

1. Bharti Airtel
2. Vodafone India
3.  Reliance Jio Infocomm
4. Reliance Communications
5. Idea Cellular
6. Aircel and 
7. Tata Teleservices.

Reliance Jio can bid in any licensed service area (LSA) across the country, while Reliance Communications can bid across the country except northeast and Assam.

Jio has deposited the highest Earnest Money Deposit of Rs 6,500 crore and has got the highest eligibility point allocated of 44,506.

The total amount of spectrum that will be offered for sale is 2,354.55 MHz.

Overall, based on the reserve price, the mop up is expected to be Rs 5.66 lakh crore.

The 2,300-plus MHz of airwaves on the block for telecom operators is in seven bands -- 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz -- as against 470.75 MHz in the previous round, which is set to fetch the exchequer $17 billion during its tenure.

The spectrum auction which will start on October 1, 2016 will be the biggest in India so far. The government is looking to raise nearly Rs 5.67 lakh crore through the auction.

Of the 7 finalists, 4 are allowed to bid on all bands across all circles - Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and Reliance Jio are allowed to bid on all 22 circles and across all 7 bands which are up for auction, the statement said.

Reliance Communications and Aircel will bid separately in the forthcoming auctions. 

Aircel can only bid for 900 and 1,800 MHz (megahertz) bands across all circles. Additionally, it can only bid for the 2,300 MHz in Andhra Pradesh and for the 2100 MHz in only West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh (East), Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha, North-East, Kolkata, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Assam & Andhra Pradesh.

Tata Teleservices can bid for all bands across Mumbai and Maharashtra. It cannot bid for the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands in Assam and North-East. In the Delhi circle, it is not allowed to bid on the 1800 MHz band. TTSL is allowed to bid for 2,100 MHz band in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (West). It can also bid for 700 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz in Mumbai and Maharashtra.