At the end of the fourth day of the spectrum auction, the government received bids over Rs 525 billion. In comparison, the government had received bids worth Rs 450, Rs 399 and Rs 500 billion on the first, second and the third day of the spectrum auction, respectively.
At the end of day four of the bidding, the demand for 2G spectrum in the 900 MHz band stabilised whereas demand for spectrum in the 1,800 MHz picked up. Of the 22 circles where spectrum in the 1,800 MHz has been put up for auction, highest bids were received for the circles including Assam, Gujarat, Bihar and Maharashtra. Operators are bidding aggressively for spectrum in these circles as the base price of spectrum in these circles is not too high and players expect long-term revenue growth in these markets.
In the 1,800 MHz band, the government witnessed additional demand for spectrum in the circles including Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) circles. Of these, the Assam circle witnessed highest increase in the bid price. As compared to the reserve price of spectrum in the circle, the bid price increased by 80 per cent in the circle, followed by Gujarat (40 per cent), Uttar Pradesh-West (36 per cent), Maharashtra (31 per cent), Bihar (14 per cent), West Bengal (13 per cent), Delhi (five per cent), Madhya Pradesh (four per cent) and Uttar Pradesh-East (three per cent).
Further, on the fourth day of the spectrum auction, the demand for spectrum in the 900 MHz declined across circles. The aggregate demand for spectrum in the Delhi and the Mumbai circle was 10 MHz (against 16 MHz of spectrum put up for auction). And in the Kolkata circle, the demand stood at seven MHz as against 14 MHz of spectrum available for bidding.
