The Department of Telecommunications has postponed the upcoming spectrum auctions from February 25, 2015 to March 4, 2015. Further, the last day for submitting applications has been extended to February 16, 2015. The decision to postpone auctions comes as DoT requires more time to respond to the queries raised in the pre-bid conference held on January 13, 2015.

Meanwhile, the cabinet is likely to take a decision on the pricing of spectrum in the 2100 MHz band by January 28, 2015. The Telecom Commission has suggested a base price of Rs 37.05 billion per MHz as the base price of 3G spectrum. This price is about 36 per cent higher than Rs 27.20 billion per MHz recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The upcoming auctions will involve the sale of spectrum in 900 MHz band, 1800 MHz band, 800 MHz  and the 2100 MHz bands. The government is expected to raise at least Rs 830 billion from the auctions. The final list of bidders will be decided by February 27, 2015 and mock auctions will be held on March 2, 2015 and March 3, 2015.