Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has released a notice inviting applicants for the 2G spectrum auction expected to take place in January 2014, where 403.2 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum in the 1800MHz band and 46MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz band will be put up on sale. You can download the notice here. The auction is expected to start on January 23, 2014 and will be conducted simultaneously online as a single process. There will be a pre-bid conference on Friday (December 20, 2013) and Interested bidders can submit their applications by January 4, 2014. The final list of eligible bidders will be released on January 16, 2014. Times Internet Limited & e‐Procurement Technologies Limited will be auctioneers of this e-auction. Payment Details: Bidders either have to pay full bid amount upfront or make use of the deferred payment option to pay 33% of the bid amount (in case of 1800MHz band) or 25% of the bid amount (in case of 900MHz band) within 10 calendar days of the auction close. Last week, Union Cabinet had set a base price of Rs 1,765 crore per MHz for 1800MHz spectrum, which is about 26% lower than the previous auction. For 900MHz spectrum, it had approved a base price of Rs 360 crore per MHz for Delhi, Rs 328 crore for Mumbai and Rs 125 crore for Kolkata, which was about 53% lower than the previous auctions. The government hopes to raise Rs 48,000 crore from these auctions if it is all sold at the approved reserve price, although note that both…
