The D-Day is finally here! India is getting its first ever 5G spectrum auction today. Airwaves in 10 different frequency bands will be available for the operators to bid for. Adani Group is also here for the spectrum bidding, and while many expected the Adani Group to raise the bidding war, it is not going to happen.
The Adani Group submitted an EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) of Rs 100 crore only. This means that their spending on the spectrum auction will be fairly limited. If you are wondering who will spend the most money - it is definitely the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) owned Reliance Jio.
Jio had submitted an EMD of Rs 14,000 crore, and this is by far the most that any bidder submitted. Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharti Airtel have submitted Rs 2,200 and 5,500 crore as EMD for the 5G spectrum auction. This is also very indicative of which company plans to invest aggressively in 5G.
But to be fair, the most money is also with Jio. Airtel has managed to stay profitable and is improving business metrics, but it is still not there where it can invest the kind of money Jio is into its networks. Vodafone Idea (Vi) has not made a single rupee since its merger, and that is the reason it isn't investing big in the 5G spectrum auction - because it doesn't have money in the first place.
5G Spectrum Airwaves
The action is soon going to unfold. Airwaves in the following bands are available for this spectrum auction - 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300MHz and 26 GHz. All of these airwaves are going to help the Indian telcos with their 5G operations, be it for the enterprises or the mobile consumers directly. A total of 72 GHz of the spectrum will be available now.
The 5G spectrum auction is being conducted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The government body will definitely try to allocate the airwaves purchased by the telcos during the auction as fast as possible to ensure that they can roll out next-generation connectivity services pretty fast.
