Is the telecom sector staring at disruption after 5G auction?

Seven days and over 40 rounds later, Reliance Industries Limited has emerged as the top bidder in India’s first 5G spectrum auction. While 5G was the auction’s centrepiece, the government had also offered 72.09 GHz of spectrum across 10 frequency bands for sale.

At Rs 1.5 trillion, the total revenue figure is the highest amount earned since mobile auctions began in 2010. The quantum of spectrum on offer was also the highest. But, the government was able to sell only around 35 per cent of the spectrum on offer in value terms, given the total figure of Rs 4.3 trillion as per the base price. Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that based on the bids, the telcos have to shell out Rs 13,365 crore as their first instalment in a few days.