Eight Indian operators, including incumbents Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, have all submitted application to take part in next month's spectrum auction.
The applicants also include Reliance Jio Infotel, Reliance Communications, Uninor, Aircel and Tata Teleservices, the Economic Times reported.
Observers expect the auction to contribute up to 1 trillion rupees ($16 billion) to government coffers.
Because of the high number of applicants, competition is expected to be fierce. In total the government is allocating 184MHz of 900-MHz spectrum and 24.2MHz of 1800-MHz airwaves, divided into 29 licenses across 18 of India's 22 telecom circles.
The spectrum is being returned in part due to the expiration of licenses from Idea Cellular, Airtel and Vodafone in certain circles. The operators will need to re-aquire spectrum in those circles in order to continue operating there.
The government has repeatedly come under fire for setting such a high reserve price for the spectrum, and Systema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) has refused to take part due to the high price.
But this will do little to alleviate the competitiveness of the auction, which is scheduled to commence on March 4.