5G auction ends: Looking at bids of Jio, Airtel, Adani
India's first 5G spectrum auction came to an end on Monday after 40 rounds of intense bidding. Reliance Jio emerged as the top bidder with bids worth Rs. 88,078 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks. Spectrum allocation will be finished in the next 10 to 12 days and 5G services should be offered to customers from October onward.
Why does this story matter?
The 5G auction continued for a week due to intense bidding for the 1,800MHz spectrum in the UP (East) circle. The Centre managed to earn its highest ever revenue from spectrum auctions because of the costly 700MHz band. Suitable for data networks and coverage in high-density areas, it garnered the second highest amount of total bids, at a value of Rs. 39,720 crore.
Enough spectrum sold for nationwide coverage: Telecom Minister
The spectrum sale generated revenue worth Rs. 1,50,173 crore. This is much higher than the Rs. 80,000-1 lakh crore figure expected by stakeholders including investors, according to Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The minister claimed that the quantity of spectrum sold is enough for coverage across the country and that it should be done in the next two to three years.
Jio purchased 24.7GHz of 5G spectrum
Jio bought 24.7GHz of 5G airwaves for Rs. 88,078 crore. These include frequencies in the costly 700MHz band, in addition to those in 800MHz, 1,800MHz, 3,300MHz, and 26GHz. The company won 10MHz of the 1,800MHz band in the UP (East) circle, by paying Rs. 1,646 crore after an intense fight with Airtel and taking the price almost 81% higher than the base rate.
How much did Airtel, Vi, and Adani spend?
Bharti Airtel paid Rs. 43,084 crore to purchase 19.8GHz of spectrum in frequencies like 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 3,300MHz, and 26GHz. Vodafone Idea spent Rs. 18,799 crore on 6,228MHz of airwaves in the 1,800 MHz, 2.100MHz, 2,500MHz, 3,300MHz and 26GHz frequencies. Finally, Adani Data Networks spent Rs. 212 crore for 400MHz of spectrum in the 26GHz band across six cities.
How much spectrum has been sold?
In India, the government put up the 5G spectrum for auction in several frequency bands. They include the low (600MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 2,300MHz, and 2,500MHz), mid (3,300MHz), and high (26GHz). Of the 72,098MHz airwaves on sale across the 10 bands, 51,236MHz or 71% of the spectrum was sold. The spectrum will be assigned to the telcos for 20 years.
