Jio corners bulk of 5G spectrum

The Modi government has collected a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore from the auction of 5G radio waves. A reading of the fine print showed that all the operators bid at the base price, barring the 1800MHz which saw a stiff fight even as no bids were received for 600MHz. Analysts said the telecom players had bid more out of fear of missing out on 5G spectrum that led to sales of 71 per cent of the airwaves on offer. Reliance Jio emerged as the largest bidder for 5G spectrum after seven days and 40 rounds of auction, acquiring close to half of all the airwaves for Rs 88,078 crore.

Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel bought 19,867 MHz across different bands for Rs 43,084 crore. Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum worth Rs 18,799 crore. The new entrant, the Adani group, bought 400MHz or less than 1 per cent of all spectrum sold for Rs 212 crore. Adani bought spectrum in the 26 GHz band, which is not a public network, in six states — Gujarat, Mumbai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra. Jio acquired spectrum across several bands, including the coveted 700 MHz that can provide 6-10 km of signal range and forms a good base for 5G in all the 22 circles in the country. “In all, Rs 150,173 crore of bids were received.