Prepare for 5G launch: IT Minister tells Telecom providers after Spectrum assignment

New Delhi, August 18: Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that the 5G Spectrum assignment letter has been issued to telecom companies and requested telecommunications service providers (TSPs) to prepare for the 5G launch.

"5G Spectrum assignment letter issued. Requesting TSPs to prepare for 5G launch," Vaishnaw tweeted. The announcement comes a day after the Department of Telecom (DoT) received an upfront payment of around Rs 17,876 crore from Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks, and Vodafone Idea for the spectrum they won in a recent auction.

While all telecom operators have opted to make payments in 20 annual installments, Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore equivalent to four annual installments.

"Yesterday, Airtel paid Rs 8312.4 crores towards 5G spectrum dues and was provided the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours. E-band allocation was given along with spectrum as promised," Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder, and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises told reporters on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio has made payments of Rs 7,864.78 crore while Vodafone Idea paid Rs 1,679.98 crore, PTI reported. Moreover, Adani Data Networks also paid Rs 18.94 crore towards 5G spectrum dues.

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"DoT has received a total payment of around Rs 17,876 crore. Only Bharti Airtel has paid for four annual installments at one go," an official said.

The country's biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum received a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of bids, with Mukesh Ambani's Jio cornering nearly half of all the airwaves sold with an Rs 87,946.93 crore bid.

Richest Indian Gautam Adani's group placed bids worth Rs 211.86 crore for 400 MHz in a band that is not used for offering public telephony services. Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs 43,039.63 crore, while Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum for Rs 18,786.25 crore.