The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Ministry of Communications, has successfully completed the Spectrum Auction 2023-24, aimed at fulfilling India’s telecom service providers’ spectrum requirements. According to a Ministry of Communications press release, the auction, conducted over June 25-26, resulted in the sale of 141.4 MHz of spectrum across various frequency bands, generating a total revenue of Rs 11,340 crores.
The primary objectives of the auction were to address expiring spectrum licenses due for renewal in 2024 and to sell off unsold spectrum from the previous 2022 auction. Spectrum was offered across bands including 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz. Notably, significant bidding activity occurred in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2500 MHz bands, while no bids were received for the 800 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands, likely due to recent allocations for 5G spectrum.
All three major telecom operators in India—Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm, and Vodafone Idea—participated in the auction, collectively purchasing 141.4 MHz of spectrum, which accounted for 26.5% of the available 533.6 MHz. The total revenue generated from the auction amounted to Rs 11,340 crores.
Bharti Airtel secured 97 MHz of spectrum, including 42 MHz in the 900 MHz band, 35 MHz in the 1800 MHz band, and 20 MHz in the 2100 MHz band, with a total expenditure of Rs 6,856.76 crores. Reliance Jio focused its acquisitions on the 900 MHz band, purchasing 14.4 MHz of spectrum for Rs 973.62 crores. Vodafone Idea acquired 30 MHz of spectrum across the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2500 MHz bands, spending Rs 3,510.40 crores.