Auction of telecom spectrum to begin on Saturday: Reports

30/09/2016 16:12

The Indian Government has said that India’s biggest auction of telecom spectrum will start on Saturday with seven operators in fray for a total of 2,354.55 MHz across seven bands.

As per reports, the companies that have qualified for the auction are Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Tata Tele, who have furnished total earnest money of Rs.14,653 crore.

Commenting on the issue, Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak told the media, “The process would be transparent and the award of airwaves quick. “One new bidding-friendly measure we have adopted this year is that spectrum won will be assigned within 30 days from the date of upfront payment.”

As per reports, the government has decided to allot the right to the spectrum won through auction for 20 years. The operators will have the choice of both upfront and instalments payment options. The service providers who win airwaves below 1 GHz bandwidth will have to pay 25 per cent upfront, and for those winning above that, the upfront payment will be 50 per cent.

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