Weak demand may trim spectrum sale mop-up to ₹10K cr

Spectrum auctions coming up this year may be a tame affair compared with the record mop-up seen two years ago, two government officials aware of the matter said, given that many telcos have already stocked up airwaves and would only seek to renew licences.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) expects at most ₹10,000 crore from the auctions that it plans to hold by the end of FY24, the officials cited above said, which will be a fraction of the record ₹1.5 trillion raised in 2022 when the government sold 72,097.85 MHz in the first-ever sale of 5G airwaves.

Telcos may refrain from buying fresh airwaves, and may focus on renewing licences expiring between February and August this year, the officials said on the condition of anonymity.