New Delhi: The 5G spectrum auction began on Tuesday with Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Gautam Adani’s flagship, Adani Group in the bidding race.
They have submitted earnest money deposits (EMDs), a key marker of bidding intent to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Reliance Jio has put in Rs 14,000 crore, compared to Rs 5,500 crore by Bharti Airtel, Rs 2,200 crore by Vodafone Idea, and Rs 100 crore by the Adani Group.
The auction started at 10 am and will last until 6 pm. The length of the auction will depend on the real demand for radiowaves and the tactics employed by various bidders, according to Department of Telecom (DoT) sources.
The auction will be 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 telecom department is expecting anywhere between ₹70,000 crores to ₹1 lakh crore from the auctions, enabling ultra-high speeds that are around 10 times faster than 4G while bringing in contemporary products and business methods.
According to analysis, Reliance Jio will spend the most money, followed by Bharti Airtel, with just little contributions from Vodafone Idea and Adani Group. According to the sources, Reliance Jio has submitted an EMD of ₹14,000 crores, the highest among the four players in the fray for the spectrum. The EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stands at ₹100 crores, the amount itself indicating a muted and limited spectrum demand from its side.
This time around, four applications are competing for 5G radiowaves, and their combined EMD comes to a hefty 21,800 crore, a substantial rise over the 13,475 crore bid in the 2021 auction when there were only three candidates.