Seven telecom firms have applied to India’s Department of Telecommunications to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction beginning October 1, and they have made a total earnest money deposit of over $2.3 billion to acquire rights to use spectrum in a number of frequencies.
According to the amount of earnest money deposited, telecom operators get eligibility points to bid in specific circles and spectrum bands, reports The Indian Express.
The companies are:
- Reliance Jio
- Vodafone India
- Idea Cellular
- Bharti Airtel
- Tata Teleservices
- Reliance Communications
- Aircel (which may merge with Reliance Communications)
All the airwaves being put up for auction can be used to deploy 4G-LTE technology.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
