Mumbai, Delhi see spike in bid prices of 900 MHz band spectrum

The bid prices for 900 MHz band spectrum on an average rose more than 54 per cent in the three major cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata as the auction of 2G radio spectrum completed all bid rounds of the second day, government data showed.

In Mumbai, the price for the 900 band spectrum saw a 68-per cent increase while in Delhi and Kolkata circles it rose 47 per cent from the auction reserve prices.

At the end of Day 2 of the 2G spectrum auction, 14 rounds of bidding have been completed. Bids have also been received in all 22 service areas in 1800 MHz band and in all 3 service areas in 900 MHz band. Thus, bidding has taken place in all the service areas in both bands.

The auction of spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands continued today after 14 rounds of bidding were completed at the end of Day 2.

With excess demand for the 900 MHz band in the Mumbai circle, the provisional winning amount per block stood at Rs552 crore at the end of the 14th round of the spectrum auction.

Provisional figures put the bid amount for 900 MHz band spectrum in the Delhi circle at Rs541.34 crore per MHz against the reserve price of Rs360 crore while for the Kolkata circle the provisional bidding amount was Rs192.71 crore.

Bidding in the 1800 MHz band also picked up pace with excess demand coming for the Gujarat circle.

The reserve price for a pan-India licence is Rs1,765 crore per MHz, about 26 per cent lower than in the March sale.

A total of over 385 MHz of spectrum has been put up for auction in the 1800 MHz band while in the 900 MHz band 46 MHz of spectrum has been put up for auction.

Eight major groups, including Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Telewings and Reliance Communications are reported to be bidding fiercely for select circles.