Telecom firms cold to 2G auction

The two top contenders were UP (West) and UP (East), which received bids for 10 and nine blocks respectively. Bihar and Gujarat received eight bids each; Assam got bids for seven blocks.

A senior DoT official said there were 176 blocks on auction, and bids had been received for 95 of them. Three bids had been received for top-up.

"Around 55 to 60 per cent of the total blocks on auction have so far been taken up and total quantum of revenue received till the end of fifth round is a little over Rs 9,200 crore," Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar said.

Around 33 per cent of the total receivables from the auction will come to the government in the first year and the rest will come in 10 equal installments.

The impact of low interest in the auctions will be felt gradually, as the charges for keeping the 900 Mhz spectrum and one-time spectrum fee to be charged for licence renewal from the incumbent operators will be decided on the basis of the price that emerges out of this auction.

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