700 MHz spectrum band expensive, says Bharti Mittal

Days ahead of start of the country’s largest ever spectrum auction, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Wednesday said the pricing of 700 MHz frequency band is “very expensive”.

“All I can say, is that it is very expensive,” Mittal said when asked about his views on the pricing of the spectrum in the premium band.

He, however, declined to comment on whether or not his company will place bids for the 700 MHz band, which is considered as the most efficient among telecom frequencies as the estimated cost of providing service through it is about one-third of 3G under the 2100 Mhz band.

Bharti Airtel has submitted an Earnest Money Deposit or EMD of Rs 1,980 crore with Telecom department ahead of the upcoming auction of airwaves. This is the first time that the government will auction the 700 Mhz band.

Last week, seven telecom operators deposited Rs 14,653 crore as earnest money for the auction, with Reliance Jio alone submitting Rs 6,500 crore.

As per the information released by the Department of Telecom, with Rs 6,500 crore EMD, the Mukesh Ambani-led firm is eligible for placing bids in any of the 22 telecom circles in the country and in any spectrum band. Vodafone India has submitted EMD of Rs 2,740 crore and Idea Cellular Rs 2,000 crore.

These two companies as well as Bharti Airtel are eligible for bidding in any circle. Tata Teleservices has submitted EMD of Rs 1,000 crore, RCom Rs 313 crore and Aircel Rs 120 crore. EMD is indicative of a company's strategy to bid in specific circles and spectrum bands. It gives them eligibility points with regard to those circles. As per DoT information, Reliance Jio is only company which has potential to buy spectrum in premium 700 Mhz at floor price.