Bids for spectrum — the first under the Modi 3.0 government — kicked off on a muted note with operators tabling offers of just ₹7,457.44 crore against the base price of ₹96,238 crore in the five rounds of bidding during the day.

The government has put over 10,500 Mhz of spectrum on the block.

According to the Day 1 auction report issued by the Department of Telecom, bids took place mainly in the 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands.

Data showed bids above the base price in the Bengal and Bihar service areas for 1800 Mhz spectrum, and in all the other blocks the bidding was around the base price. In 2100 Mhz, only Uttar Pradesh (West) witnessed bidding.

The auction offered 5G airwaves across various frequency bands, including 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1,800 Mhz, 2,100 Mhz, 2,300 Mhz, 2,500 Mhz, 3,300 Mhz, and 26 Ghz.

Analysts said the telcos seem to have bid for radio waves where the spectrum lease tenure was due to expire. Going by the bidding numbers, it seems Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India were the primary participants.

Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom service provider, needs to renew spectrum in Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Bihar, UP (East), Bengal and Assam. Vodafone Idea requires renewals in Bengal and UP West circles.

The auction will resume on Wednesday, going into the sixth round.

According to a JP Morgan report, VIL needs to decongest its existing network over the next couple of quarters, especially by using 900, 1800 and 2100 Mhz spectrum bands.

The operator-wise break-up of the bid was not immediately known and will be announced once the auction concludes.

Earlier in the day, as the initial rounds were underway, telecom operators showed interest in four spectrum bands — 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2500 Mhz, sources said.

During the last auction in 2022 — which turned out to be a seven-day affair — a record over ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of 5G telecom spectrum was sold, with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio emerging as the top bidder, cornering nearly half of all the airwaves (worth ₹88,078 crore).

At that time, telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of ₹43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea bought spectrum for ₹18,799 crore.

Industry analysts had predicted 2024 bidding to be relatively muted, with low earnest money deposit (EMD) submissions by telcos, reflecting a selective appetite for radio waves.

Analysts expect Bharti to bid for some of its expiring spectrum (it has renewals for 42 Mhz of spectrum in 1800 MHz and 900 MHz band in six circles), while Jio — which has adequate spectrum across 4G and 5G bands — may be more picky and selective, they said.

For the 2024 auction, EMD submitted by telcos ranged between ₹300 crore and ₹3000 crore — the lowest since the auctions in 2014 and down a staggering 80 per cent over the previous auction in 2022.

Reliance Jio has deposited the highest earnest money of ₹3,000 crore for the spectrum auction, which provides the company with the firepower to bid for maximum radiowaves among the three telcos.

Bharti Airtel has submitted an EMD of ₹1,050 crore and Vodafone Idea (VIL) of ₹300 crore.

Telecom industry body Cellular Operators Association of India director-general S.P. Kochhar said the 5G auctions will catalyse the rapid rollout of 5G services across the country, leading to enhanced coverage and vastly improved connectivity.

COAI counts Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as its members.