5G telecom spectrum worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore sold in seven-day auction that ended on Monday. In this Jio has emerged as the top bidder to consolidate its leadership position. Provisional figures show that the total bids are Rs. 1,50,173 crores.
A mop-up from the 5G spectrum, capable of offering ultra-high-speed mobile internet connectivity, is almost double the Rs 77,815 crore worth of 4G airwaves sold last year. 50,968.37 crores was tripled from the 2010 3G auction.
Reliance Jio was the leading bidder on the airwaves, capable of offering lag-free connectivity and almost 10 times the speed of 4G. It is followed by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
The new Adani group is said to have bought 26 MHz of spectrum to set up a private telecom network. Sources said the details of which company bought how much spectrum will be clear only after the data from the auction is fully compiled.
Bharti and Jio may have built a pan-India spectrum footprint for 5G with a selective partnership with Vodafone Idea.
The government had offered spectrum in 10 bands. But no bids were received for airwaves in 600 MHz, 800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands. Two-thirds of the bids were for the 5G bands (3300 Mhz and 26 GHz), while a quarter of the demand came in the 700 Mhz band – a band that went unsold in the previous two auctions (2016 and 2021).
Reliance Jio acquired spectrum worth Rs 57,122.65 crore in the two-day auction held last year. Bharti Airtel bid for around Rs 18,699 crore while Vodafone Idea bought the spectrum for Rs 1,993.40 crore.
This year, a total of 72 GHz (Gigahertz) radio waves is worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore has been blocked. The auction was held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz), medium (3300 MHz) and high frequency (26 GHz) bands.
This year’s auction fetched a bid of Rs.2000 crore. 1.45 lakh crore on its first day on July 26, the following days saw only a marginal increase in some circles.
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