Telcos eye four spectrum bands as auction enters round 4 on Day 1

Telecom operators showed interest in four spectrum bands -- 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,500 MHz -- as the auction entered the fourth round around 3pm on Tuesday, sources said.

Spectrum auction for over 10,500 Mhz mobile services worth over Rs 96,238 crore started at 10 am, an official statement said.

"There was activity in four spectrum rounds initially -- 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, and 2,500 MHz band. Spectrum auction entered the fourth round around 3pm," a source told PTI.

It is the 10th spectrum auction since the process for sale of radiowaves started through an online bidding process in 2010.

The last spectrum auction was held in August 2022, which, for the first time, included radio waves for 5G services.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated the spectrum auction and notice inviting applications was issued on March 8.

"The Ministry of Communications announced that the following spectrum bands will go up for bidding in the upcoming auction -- 8