Spectrum Auction: Govt raises Rs 60k crore on Day 1

NEW DELHI: The first day of spectrum auctions saw the government raking in about Rs 60,000 crore as telcos Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, and Idea Cellular bid aggressively to retain airwaves in some of the circles.

"The bidding has taken place in all bands. At present, a value of approximately Rs 60, 000 crores has been committed by bidders against the value (at reserve price) of around Rs 49,000 crores of provisionally won spectrum," the Department of Telecom has said in a release.

There is still spectrum which is yet to be sold.

Six rounds of bidding were concluded with bids worth Rs 60,000 crore coming in all the four bands on offer,” media reports said quoting sources.

In the largest-ever 2G and 3G telecom spectrum auction, the government is likely to fetch over Rs 100,000 crore from the sale of airwaves.

The total spectrum put to auction is 103.75 MHz in 800 MHz band, 177.8 MHz in 900 MHz band and 99.2 MHz in 1,800 MHz band and 5 MHz in 2100 MHz (3G).