The Department of Telecom has extended the spectrum payment date to March 3 for companies that won radiowaves in the recently concluded auction. The date has been extended from February 27 to March 3, the DoT said in a notice.
The spectrum auction held in February attracted bids worth Rs 61,162 crore from seven participants-- Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Jio Infocomm, Telewings (Uninor), Reliance Communications and Aircel. If the payment is not received by the last date, the EMD (earnest money deposit) made by companies will be forfeited. The successful companies have to pay a cumulative amount of least Rs 18,529 crore if they opt to pay the amount in installments, according to the notice. The Government had initially expected Rs 11,300 crore of revenue from the auction this financial year.
Winners of 1800 MHz band spectrum have to make an upfront payment of 33 per cent and can pay the rest in 10 yearly installments after a two-year moratorium. In the premium 900 MHz band spectrum, the winners can pay 25 per cent of the final price upfront and the remainder in yearly installments. Vodafone, the biggest winner of spectrum during the 10-day auction that started on February 3, has the option to make an upfront payment of Rs 5,581.8 crore. The company won 900 MHz spectrum in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata for Rs 11,261.2 crore and 1800 MHz spectrum in 11 service areas for Rs 8,383.52 crore.