Telecom Lead India: Videocon has won 2G spectrum in 6 circles for Rs 2200 crore. Telenor bagged spectrum for 6 telecom circles. Idea Cellular clinched all lost circles.
Government has fetched around Rs 9,400 crore against its target of Rs 40,000 crore.
Videocon Telecommunications has won circles like Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
Vodafone India has won bid in 14 circles in the 2G auctions. Its decision to participate in the 2G auction was to secure additional spectrum in many circles where it has not received any new 2G spectrum since 2008.
Arvind Bali, CEO and director, Videocon Telecommunications, told TelecomLead.com: “We will initially focus on these 7 circles. In the next phase, when spectrum is available, we will expand our presence.”
Telenor bagged telecom circles such as Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai). The Norwegian telecom major has already decided to reduce its exposure in India due to the high spectrum price and regulatory issue.
Idea has won back all circles which they lost because of the Spectrum order in February 2012.
Will A Raja, ex-telecom minister known for 2G controversy, come out of the issue without punishment as the 2G auction fetched only Rs 9400 crore.
The 2G licence allocation during former telecom minister A Raja’s time fetched the government Rs 9,500 crore, while the 3G auction that took place in 2010 got the government Rs. 66,000 crore.
All 22 telecom circles in the country were put on the block in the auction that began Monday. There was muted response from telecom firms, with two key circles—Delhi and Mumbai—getting no bids. Karnataka and Rajasthan didn’t see any bids either.
Telecom operators have said that the government’s base price of Rs 14,000 crore for 5 MHz of GSM airwaves in all the 22 telecom zones is too high—it is more than seven times what companies paid in the 2008 grant process, one of the reasons the auction saw such subdued response from telcos, none of which had applied for an all-India licence.
