5G auction in India: Companies bid over record Rs 1.45 crore on the first day

Highlights

• Telecom companies bought over Rs 1.45 crore worth of spectrum on the first day of the 5G auction in India.
• 40 percent of the 700 MHz low-band sold on the first day of the auction.
• 5G services in India could see a September launch, and the government will allocate the spectrum before the August 14th deadline.

The biggest auction of the mobile network spectrum in India held Tuesday saw bids worth a record Rs 1.45 crore from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Adani Data Networks. Commenting on the bidding, Communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called (via) the auction ‘Active,’ and all four telecom giants made ‘Strong’ bidding. Over Rs 1.45 crore worth of spectrum was bought on the first day of the auction, exceeding all expectations and surpassing 2015 records. Further, 5G services could see a launch by September, and the government will allocate the spectrum in record time, following the August 14th deadline.

The auction for spectrum offers various frequency bands:

• low-band: 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz.
• mid-band (C-band): 3.3 GHz to 3.67 GHz.
• high-band: 26 GHz.

5G auction in India

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The first day of the auction had four rounds of bidding for the mid and high bands (3.3 GHz to 26 GHz). Even the low-band (700 MHz) that previously gained no interest from telecom companies saw heavy bidding in this auction, with 40 percent of the 700 MHz low-band sold. The government has made 72 GHz of 5G airwaves across ten bands available for purchase for the base price of 4.3 lakh crore for the final five rounds on the second day.

The earnest money deposit (EMD) of all four companies in the 5G auction is Rs 21,400 crore. Reliance Jio submitted Rs 14,000 crore, while Bharti Airtel gave Rs 5,500 crore. Vodafone Idea put in Rs 2,200 crore, and Adani Data Networks deployed Rs 100 crore. The auction’s rules prohibit any early announcement of the specifics of the 5G spectrum bid – and which spectrum was won by which company will only get disclosed after the entire process is complete.

The post 5G auction in India: Companies bid over record Rs 1.45 crore on the first day first appeared on 91mobiles.com.

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