Vodafone gets fresh spectrum in 14 circles
Vodafone is the second company to be allocated spectrum among firms that took part in November 2012 bidding.
Vodafone has been allocated spectrum for 14 circles it had successfully won in November 2012 auction. According to reports, the telecom operator will soon receive the Wireless Operating Licence.
Vodafone had won spectrum Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, North East, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh East and West, Punjab and West Bengal circles for Rs. 1,127.94 crore.
“Vodafone India has received the spectrum it had won through a competitive bidding process in the month of November 2012, followed by LoIs received in the month of December 2012. It will use this spectrum for providing world class services to its valued customers and for continuing to connect the unconnected,”says the operator in a statement.
Vodafone is the second company to be allocated spectrum among firms that took part in November 2012 bidding. The Telecom Department had allocated spectrum to Videocon in March this year.
It’s notable Airtel, Telewings Communications (Uninor) and Idea Cellular haven’t yet been given spectrum. SSTL, which operates in the country under the MTS brand, hasn’t yet received spectrum.
The November 2012 auctions had seen a lukewarm response from the companies. The government could fetch only Rs 9,407.64 crore against minimum value of Rs 28,000 crore. Later, the government slashed the base price of CDMA spectrum auction by half and 30 percent cut in the base price of spectrum in the 1800MHz band in telecom circles that saw no buyers in the November auctions.
Source: Economic Times