Cabinet approves next round of spectrum auction, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the next round of spectrum auction to be held in March, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

The cabinet approved auction of spectrum in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz frequency bands, for a validity period of 20 years. "A total of 2251.25 MHz is being offered with a total valuation of Rs. 3,92,332.70 crore," Prasad told reporters after cabinet meeting.

Prasad also said, "It's been 4 years since the last auction but conditions for the auction to be same as 2016." This means, notice for inviting applications will commence this month and
auction will be conducted by March, he said.

Winning the spectrum through the auction will help telecom service providers to augment their network capacity, whereas new players will be able to start their services, said a statement.