5G spectrum auction: Bids cross ₹1.50 lakh cr mark; UP East sees renewed interest

New Delhi, August 01 : The auction of the 5G spectrum capable of offering ultra-high-speed internet entered the seventh day of bidding on Sunday after receiving bids worth Rs 1,50,130 in the first six days from players like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

 

 

It was reported that the bidder and the amount witnessed an incremental increase in the bidding figure after 37 rounds. The demand had eased on Saturday but picked up on Sunday as UP East circle saw bidding activity escalate once again for 1800 MHz, a band primarily used by telcos for 4G services.

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UP East - which has over 10 crore mobile subscribers - accounted for all of the incremental spectrum sales on Sunday. Among those, as of May 2022, Reliance Jio had 3.29 mobile subscribers in UP East, Bharti Airtel (3.7 crores), and Vodafone Idea (2.02 crore).

 

The bidding intensity for the 1800 MHz band in Uttar Pradesh East circle had peaked between Wednesday and Friday. It subsided on Saturday, only to pick up back again on Sunday.

 

 

 

All three private operators are said to be keen on topping up their holdings in this band in UP East, as radiowaves in the 900 MHz band are not available. The bidding will resume on Monday and interest will be heightened in this circle. The auction timelines would depend on how the bidding progresses through the day.

 

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the 5G spectrum auction underscored that industry wants to expand. "The auction results are very good, close to ₹1,49,966 crore has been committed by the industry for buying the spectrum," Vaishnaw had said.

He said that the reserve price fixed for spectrum is a "fair number", adding that it was visible from the auction outcome. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises are in the race to bid for the 5G spectrum.

 

In all, 72 GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least ₹4.3 lakh crore is on the block in the 2022 auction. The auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz), mid (3300 MHz) and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.