We all know that 5G auctions are just around the corner. TRAI’s consultation process is complete, and as per press reports, the DOT has taken its final decision which will soon get ratified by the cabinet. Hence, it is now time to understand the operator’s bidding strategy –which will depend on the existing spectrum they hold and the price at which the fresh spectrum is being offered. Operators might also indulge in conservative bidding or no bidding in some bands, hoping that the leftover spectrum will get offered at a lower price in the next auction. Now the question is what is the probability of the price of the spectrum falling in a subsequent auction? What conditions the does regulator apply to drive prices down? Is there any precedence? Has TRAI changed its position now? If yes, in what way? What are these specific rules? What were they earlier? The purpose of the current note is to analyze and find answers to these questions.
Operator’s Bidding Strategy
While analyzing the bidding strategy of the operators, we will go band by band. To enable a bird’s eye picture of the overall situation, I have created a matrix, that not only contains the existing spectrum the operators hold in that band, but also the price at which they are offered in a similar band with similar propagation characteristics. This will help sharpen our decisions.
