2G spectrum auction: Govt receives bids over Rs 9,200 cr on Day 1

"We said that the high reserve price would ensure that limited players come into the bid and that is exactly what we have seen," he said, adding COAI had rightly predicted no bidders for several circles.

The auction, he said, would not last more than two days.

Bids were received for 7 blocks in Assam, 6 blocks each in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, West Bengal and North East. Maharashtra telecom service area received bid for 5 blocks.

Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata and Tamil Nadu circle received bids for half of the 8 blocks of spectrum available for bidding.

Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab received bids for only one block clearly indicating that companies whose licences were affected by Supreme Court judgement, Telenor promoted Telewings and Videocon, did not bid in these circles.

The demand for spectrum in UP (W)and (E) has kept auction going as per the details shared.

Sources said the auction has drawn scant interest so far as the base price for 5 MHz of GSM radiowaves or spectrum in all the 22 zones is more than seven times of what the companies paid in 2008.

Chairman of Bharti Airtel, the nation's largest telecom company, Sunil Bharti Mittal had last week predicted that the auction would be over on first day itself because of the high base price.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Norway's Telenor and Videocon are bidding for GSM, but there are no bidders for the CDMA spectrum after Tata Teleservcies and Videocon pulled out of the race.

Muted response to spectrum auction due to high price: COAI

Holding high reserve price responsible for the muted response to the 2G telecom spectrum auction, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) today said it would be surprising if the process went on for more than a day or two.

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