The government has allocated spectrum to Vodafone India in the 14 circles it bid for in the November 2012 auction, say news reports. The operator paid Rs 11.27 billion for the same.
The company acquired spectrum in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North East, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh East and West, Punjab and West Bengal. It will now be given a wireless operating licence in these circles.
The much-hyped 2G spectrum auction witnessed participation from only five players: Telenor-promoted Telewings Communications, Videocon Telecommunications, Idea Cellular, Vodafone India, and Bharti Airtel. While Vodafone won spectrum in 14 circles and Idea Cellular in eight (the seven circles where its licences had been cancelled and in Bihar), Bharti Airtel won spectrum in just one circle (Assam). Both Telenor and Videocon won spectrum in six circles each.
The auction proved to be a major disappointment, eliciting neither operators? enthusiasm nor the targeted revenue for the government. It fetched only Rs 94.07 billion of the expected Rs 400 billion. Further, the auction of CDMA spectrum had to be cancelled as companies withdrew their bids. Also, the GSM spectrum auction did not have any takers for airwaves in the Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka circles. The high reserve price set by the government was identified as the reason for the disappointing auction.
