According to a recent report by Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities, the spectrum auction scheduled to start on March 1, 2021 may witness lower competition intensity among the telecom operators given the varied priorities of each player.
Commenting on the operators’ position, it said that Vodafone Idea’s weak liquidity position may keep its interest low, while, Bharti Airtel’s sub-GHz spectrum interest may largely be limited to 900MHz. Further, Reliance Jio’s renewal of 800MHz spectrum may not see much interest from rest of the players.
The report added that the 1,800MHz and 2,300MHz spectrum may be of high interest to both Airtel and Jio, which may eye it for their 4G plans as well as their 5G requirements going forward. On the earnest money deposit (EMD), Motilal Oswal said that it indicates that Airtel and Jio may be interested in spending 2-3x the renewal requirement in other bands and Vodafone Idea has limited options given its liquidity position.
