New Delhi, May 9 -- The Centre is unlikely to conduct a spectrum auction in 2025, according to two government officials as well as industry executives who are aware of the matter. Reason: India's three telecom operators are not inclined to buy more spectrum this year after spending vast amounts in previous auctions, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

The operators are currently looking to recoup the investments gone into purchasing Rs.1.5 trillion worth 5G spectrum in 2022 and capital expenditure for rollout of the network, analysts said.

"Department of telecommunications (DoT) is targeting to auction the spectrum early next year," one of the officials cited above said. "In the next few months, a reference will be se...