* Government raises 1.10 trln rupees, beating 2010 record
* Auction proceeds top government expectations by a third
* Final allocations pending court approval (Changes sourcing; adds background, analyst quote)
By Aman Shah
MUMBAI, March 25 (Reuters) - India raised a record $17.6billion from the sale of mobile phone airwaves in its latesttelecom spectrum auction after 19 days of fierce bidding, thecountry's telecoms minister said on Wednesday.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government received bids worthalmost 1.10 trillion rupees ($17.6 billion), topping the 1.06trillion rupees it raised in 2010. The amount is a third higherthan the government expected to raise.
Victorious bidders need to pay a quarter to a third of thewinning price initially, and the rest by 2027. Spectrum revenueis key for the government to plug its fiscal deficit.
However, the government's payday could be delayed as thefinal allocations to operators will take place after Thursday,when the Supreme Court issues its ruling on multiple casesquestioning the auction guidelines and criteria.
The government did not disclose winning bidders and theregions in which they had won spectrum, but the country's topoperators -- Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Group Plc's India unit and Idea Cellular Ltd -- areexpected to have bought the major chunk of the 20-year licenceson offer.
The bidding underscores the fierce competition in India'smobile phone market and the operators' big bet on the potentialfor mobile data in the world's fastest growing smartphonemarket.
"(The) competitive landscape in the telecom sector isbecoming favourable for large telecom companies as they haveconsolidated their leadership over the last few years,"Morningstar analyst Piyush Jain said in a note.
Cash-rich conglomerate Reliance Industries is alsoamong bidders expected to spend big on airwaves as it looks toroll out pan-India 4G services, five years after buying itslicence.
($1 = 62.3350 Indian rupees) (Additional reporting by C.K. Nayak in New Delhi; Reporting byAman Shah in Mumbai; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Sunil Nair andMark Potter)
Vodafone (VOD)
