Beyond expectations! Centre receives bids worth of whopping Rs 1.45 lakh crore on 1st day of 5G spectrum auction

New Delhi, July 27: In a major development, the auction of the 5G spectrum kick-started on Tuesday, with four players including Reliance Jio, Adani, and Bharti Airtel. As per the Department of Telecom, on the first day, the 5G spectrum auction attracted strong interest from the bidders with the government receiving record bids worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore.

 

 

 

In all probability, the auction process is likely to be completed today and the high-speed telecom services are expected to be offered in several cities in the county by the end of the year. Industry estimates put auction sales to surpass Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 90,000 crore.

 

The auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.

 

The bidding and demand seen on the first day is over 80 per cent more than the government’s internal estimates of Rs 80,000 crore. The Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw acknowledged that the response had gone “far beyond our expectations”.

 

 

 

Talking about the auction, Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, "The response on the first day of the auction exceeded all expectations and will surpass the records of 2015 when revenue collection from the auction stood at Rs 1.09 lakh crore. Even the 700 MHz band, which had not seen any takers in the 2016 and 2021 auctions, received bids this time."

 

He added that "We have to complete this process by August 14 and 5G services in the country will start by September-October.”

 

 

Besides this, it should be noted that this is the first time that the Gautam Adani-led Adani group, which recently forayed into the telecom sector, participated in the bidding process of the 5G telecom spectrum auction. However, the group has said it has no intention of entering the consumer mobility space.

 

Adani Group is participating in the 5G auction to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security at airports, ports and logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution, and various manufacturing operations.

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