India Targets $83 Billion Haul From Airwave Auction in September

Vehicles drive past mobile-phone telecommunications towers in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014. Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg

Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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India said it could raise as much as a record 5.56 trillion rupees ($83 billion) by auctioning mobile-phone airwaves later this year, about four times last year’s proceeds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government plans to sellBloomberg Terminal spectrum across seven wavelengths starting Sept. 29, India’s telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak told reporters in New Delhi on Monday. The estimates of the amount to be raised are based on reserve prices recommended by the nation’s telecom regulator, Deepak said. India raised 1.1 trillion rupees auctioning airwaves in March last year.