Spectrum Auctions Fall Short: Only 12% of Estimated Value Achieved
Jio emerged as the leading bidder, securing nearly half of the available spectrum for Rs 88,078 crore.
image for illustrative purpose
The spectrum auctions concluded on Wednesday, achieving less than 12% of the government’s estimated minimum value of Rs 96,238 crore, with total bids amounting to Rs 11,340 crore.
The auction featured 10 GHz of spectrum across frequencies from 800 MHz to 26 GHz. Despite five rounds of bidding on June 25, the final activity on Wednesday was minimal, leading officials to end the auction around 11:30 am.
The final bid totals were close to Tuesday's figures, with an additional 140-150 MHz sold. In comparison, the previous auction in 2022 lasted seven days and set a record with over Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 5G spectrum sales.
During that auction, Mukesh Ambani’s Jio was the leading bidder, securing nearly half of the available spectrum for Rs 88,078 crore.
Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, acquired spectrum worth Rs 43,084 crore, and Vodafone Idea purchased spectrum for Rs 18,799 crore.
