Auction riches to remain pipe dream as telcos keep distance
two had challenged the government’s decision to auction the 900 MHz band spectrum by taking it away from them even when the two companies had submitted their application to the DoT for renewal of licence as per the contract. The court has given the DoT two weeks’ time to decide on their application for renewal and the companies the liberty to challenge the decision before it if they are not satisfied with it.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to put up for auction all the spectrum which got vacated due to the cancellation of 122 licences last year in February. The government had not put all spectrum for auction in November, stating that it needed to reserve some for refarming purposes. After the SC order, it had said that it would conduct another round of auctions after the March one. Thus, a scenario has emerged where the supply of spectrum has become more than demand and so the companies would not be willing to pay a high price for it.
The auctions were crucial for the government in terms of revenue because in the first round in November 2012, it could mop only R9,407 crore against the budgeted target of R40,000 crore. It had subsequently reduced the reserve price in the 1,800 MHz band in the four circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan by 30%. These circles had not seen any takers in November. The reserve price in the more efficient 900 MHz band was double that of
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