Spectrum auction: Eight firms in fray

Eight telecom firms, including Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil as well as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, are in the race to buy spectrum in the auction which will start from March 4.

As the government aims to garner about Rs 1 lakh crore in the auction, the Department of Telecom plans to sell the second-generation or 2G and third-generation 3G radiowaves.

With the deadline for filing applications for participating auction ended on Monday, eight telecom companies including Mukesh Ambani- led Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Anil Ambani -led Reliance Communications, Uninor, Aircel and Tata Teleservices have applied.

However, Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), a potential buyer of CDMA spectrum, opted out citing high price and legal issues with the DoT. Videocon Telecom did not submit its application.

Officials in the DoT expects that participation of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Uninor, Tata Teleservices and Aircel has enhanced the chances of aggressive bidding in the auction. While the auction of the 2G and 3G radiowaves is expected garner Rs 82,395 crore at the base or minimum price, sources said, adding, the government expects the total proceeds to exceed Rs 1 lakh crore.