By newsgram Staff Writer

In the latest telecom spectrum auction, government has raised a record Rs 1.10 lakh crore ($17.6 billion) from the sale of mobile phone airwaves, said Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday.

Government has received bids worth almost Rs 1.10 lakh crore ($17.6 billion), topping the Rs 1.06 lakh crore it raised in 2010 said Prasad.

Spectrum revenue is the key for government to plug its fiscal deficit. A quarter to a third of winning price needs to be paid initially by victorious bidders and rest by 2027.

Major chunks of the 20 years licenses on offer are expected to be bought by top operators of the country – Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Group Plc's India unit and Idea Cellular Ltd, though government hasn't disclosed winning bidder and region in which they had won spectrum.

In India's mobile phone market bidding underscores the fierce competition and the operators' big bet on the potential for mobile data in the world's fastest growing smartphone market.

Reliance Industries is expected to spend big on airwaves as it looks to roll out pan-India 4G services, five years after buying its licensee .