Spectrum auction breaks record as bids cross Rs. 1,07,000 cr on twelfth day

BANGALORE, INDIA: Spectrum auction amount crossed Rs. 1,07,000 crore on Tuesday as intense bidding continues in the 800MHz band. The provisional amount committed by bidders on Monday was Rs. 103,046 crore.

With this, the ongoing spectrum auction has also been able to break the previous record of the Rs. 1.06,000 crore raised during 2010 spectrum sale.  The government is likely to garner more as 12 percent of the spectrum has not been sold yet.

About 88pc of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to bidders so far over 74 rounds on bidding during the last twelve days.

Majority of service areas are going at a premium over reserve price due to a sudden spike in the demand for the spectrum in 800MHz band.  The band is attracting attention as it can be used for FD-LTE versions of 4G technology.

Deamnds on the twelfth day came mainly from nine circles -Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, and Bihar. Excess demands were seen in Assam, Maharashtra and Delhi. Majority of service areas are going at a premium over reserve price.

No excess demand has been seen in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and the 2100MHz bands on Tuesday.

The bidding is going on today as well.