The Government on Monday received payment of Rs18,267 crore, about Rs30 crore less than the bids received from seven companies in the spectrum auction last month because of unavailability of radiowaves in some parts of service areas.
"All companies have made upfront payment today. Total of about Rs18,267 crore has been received," Telecom Secretary MF Farooqui told the news agency.
The amount received exceeds the government's target of about Rs11,333 crore set for the current fiscal, ending March 31, by about 61 per cent.
The government received bids worth Rs62,162 crore in the auction for 1800 Mhz and 900 Mhz bands.
The winners -- Vodafone, Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Idea Cellular, Telenor (Uninor), Reliance Communications and Aircel -- had the option of paying in instalments - 33 per cent upfront for 1800 Mhz and 25 per cent for 900 Mhz band.
The rest of the amount is to be paid in yearly instalments after two years with about 10 per cent interest.