5G spectrum auction: Bids worth ₹1.49 lakh crore on day 2| Top points
A total of nine rounds of the auction have been carried out so far, five on Wednesday and four on Tuesday. The auction has been extended to Thursday.
The 5G spectrum auction in India has garnered ₹1.49 lakh crore worth of bids till Wednesday and the auction has been extended to Thursday. A total of nine rounds of the auction have been carried out so far, five on Wednesday and four on Tuesday.
“I am happy to see good competition in auction, good competition for all bands have come in. Bids worth ₹1,49,454 crore have been received so far at the end of 9th round,” Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.
Here are the top points on the auction:
> This is India's first auction of the 5G spectrum, which powers ultra-high data speeds with a total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least ₹4.3 lakh crore up for bidding.
> 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 four major participants in the race to bid for the 5G spectrum are- Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises.
> According to analysts on Wednesday, Reliance Jio may be the most aggressive of those in the race.
> Though details of the bids have not been announced yet, ICICI Securities said its analysis shows that Jio has likely bid for the highest spectrum worth ₹80,100 crore, and likely opted for 10MHz spectrum in the premium 700 MHz band, PTI further reported.
> Airtel may have bid for spectrum worth ₹45,000 crore possibly in the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. Vodafone on the other hand has likely bid for ₹18,400 crore for spectrum.
> The Adani Group, whose entry in the auction was a major surprise, should have picked 26 GHz spectrum pan-India, the analysis on Wednesday added.
> The Adani Group had earlier said that it has no intention to be in the consumer mobility space, and is participating in the auction to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security in the airport, ports and logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution, and various manufacturing operations.
(With PTI inputs)
