NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the next round of telecom spectrum auctions with airwaves worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore going under the hammer. However, the bands identified for 5G (3300-3600 Mhz) have been left out of this tranche.
According to telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Department of Telecom (DoT) will issue a notice inviting bids by the end of this month and auctions for 20-year licences will be held by March 2021. Airwaves being offered are in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz frequency bands—a cumulative 2,251.25 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore at reserve prices.
With government revenues having taken a substantial hit from the Covid-19 fallout, income from spectrum auctions will be a respite, say industry analysts. However, they warn that the Centre may not net as much as it expects. During the last round in FY 2017-18, the Centre had put 2,354.5 MHz of spectrum under the hammer, worth a cumulative Rs 5.63 lakh crore. It managed to sell just 965 MHz for Rs 65,789 crore.
Meanwhile, the run-up to this next round has also been rife with industry-level differences—Jio (the only profitable telco in the market) had sought early auctions, while rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea had indicated that they would be more comfortable with a later date. Both Airtel and Vi have been hit hard by the AGR payouts, but early auctions are crucial for Jio since the licences for some of its most lucrative markets are set to expire next year.
Jio currently uses spectrum owned by bankrupt Reliance Communications through a sharing agreement. But come July 2021, its licences for the 800 Mhz band will expire in 18 out of the 21 telecom circles. Airtel and Vi will also see a few licenses expiring in the same time-frame, but they have back-up spectrum assets in such circles and only need the cheaper 1800 Mhz band.
In fact, Jio had written to the DoT in September this year protesting the delay in announcing auctions. “We reiterate that the inexplicable delay of four years in auction of spectrum since 2016 has created a situation of dire scarcity which is impacting the quality of experience and growth of services,” it wrote.
Cabinet approves N-E power grid project
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the revised estimate of the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project at Rs 6,700 crore. At a press briefing, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the project would add 2,100 km of transmission lines and 2,000 km of distribution lines in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
The scheme was being implemented by public sector undertaking POWERGRID and funded 50:50 by the World Bank and the government. It would improve the availability and reliability of power in the States, he said. “The scheme shall also increase the per capita power consumption of the States, and shall contribute to the total economic development of the North-Eastern region. The scheme was approved in December 2014,” the government said in an official statement.