The second day of ongoing spectrum auctions saw bids worth Rs 56,792 crore being placed in six rounds of bidding conducted on Monday, even as operators showed no interest in the coveted 700 MHz and 900 MHz bands, and majority of activity still being seen in the 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz frequencies. On the first day of auctioning on October 1, bids worth nearly Rs 53,530 crore were placed. Watch What Else Is Making News Industry sources attributed the high reserve prices of 700 MHz band as the reason why none of the bidders have shown any interest in it, suggesting that a company could get much higher quantum of spectrum in any other frequency for the same amount of eligibility points it needs to place to acquire a single block in 700 MHz. According to the report released by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday, at the end of the second day of bidding, demand was more than supply only in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh (East) circles in 1800 MHz band, and Gujarat and Maharashtra circles in 2300 MHz band. In the 1800 MHz band, the maximum interest was shown in the Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, and Bihar circles, but due to availability of enough blocks, price increment was not applicable for the twelfth round that will begin on Tuesday. Despite the high demand, these circles in the 1800 MHz frequency are likely to be picked up by operators at reserve price. This is given that none of the operators pull out the bids they have placed to pick airwaves in any other frequency. In the 800 MHz band, bids were received only in the four circles of Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (East). Of these, the price increase due to excess demand was only in Gujarat. Since the beginning of auction, the Gujarat circle's price in 800 MHz band has risen 10.4 per cent over its reserve price. The 2300 MHz band, used to deploy 3G services, also saw some activity on Day 2, with the day's final round seeing bids only in 10 out of 22 circles. In the 2500 MHz band, only 9 out of 22 circles witnessed bidding at the end of Round 11. Spectrum in none of the circles in either of these bands was in more demand than there is availability.
