Videocon and Loop opt out of 2G spectrum auction; govt eyes Rs 11,343 crore in revenue

With the 2G spectrum auction just round the corner, leading telcos have started submitting applications to participate in the auction. The auction will be held on February 3, and the list of contenders already includes Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio Infocomm, among others. However, Loop and Videocon are the major telcos that haven’t submitted their applications yet.   Other companies that have submitted applications include Uninor, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and Aircel. The government aims to collect around Rs 11,343 crore from the auction. It will auction 403 MHz of pan-India spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band and 45 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band.   The base price for the 1,800 MHz band for pan-India is fixed at Rs1,765 crore per MHz, which is about 26 percent lower than the previous March sale. On the other hand, the 900 MHz band rate is Rs 360 crore per MHz for Delhi, Rs328 crore for Mumbai and Rs125 crore for Kolkata, touted to be lowered by up to 53 percent.   [caption id=“attachment_216296” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Telcos start applying to participate in 2G spectrum auction[/caption] Following the Supreme Court ’s decision that all spectrum that was freed from the cancellation of 122 licences on February 2, 2012 in the 2G spectrum allocation case should be offered to telcos, the government has planned to put the 1,800 MHz band on auction. On the other hand, 900 MHz band will be auctioned in metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The current licenses for this band which are with Airtel, Vodafone and Loop will expire in November. The government plans on qualifying the telcos to be applicable to bid for spectrum. The pre-qualification will take place on January 25. Before the final auction, , a two-day mock auction will take place on January 30 and 31.   Videocon reportedly plans to focus on deploying more sites rather than acquiring spectrum. It plans to invest in Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West and Bihar Telecom circles where the telco has airwaves. Meanwhile, Loop will not be participating in the action and has reportedly filed an application with the TDSAT for extension of its 900 MHz Mumbai licence.