The first 5G spectrum auction in India saw telcos spending around Rs 1.5 lakh crore to get airwaves from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The telecom department has also set the ball rolling for the next 5G spectrum auction. While the time zone for when it will happen is unknown, there is one thing for sure, it is not going to happen in CY23. For now, the telecom department has sent a reference to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), seeking a reserve price for airwaves in different bands estimated to be worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
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Given the current situation, the telcos have already built a robust spectrum portfolio and that's why, they are not expected to go for heavy bidding of the airwaves during the next 5G spectrum auction. But yes, telcos will look to purchase spectrum in small quantities in areas where they have airwaves expiring.
In fact, Vodafone Idea (Vi), hasn't really utilised the 5G spectrum it acquired during the 2022 auction. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are the two players that have rolled out 5G in every telecom circle in India and are making use of the 5G spectrum. The telcos have found the 700 MHz band to be too pricey.
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Despite that, Reliance Jio went ahead and purchased the airwaves in the 700 MHz band to offer great coverage with 5G. However, in the words of Airtel's CEO, in terms of uplink performance, the 700 MHz band doesn't really offer any significantly greater uplink speeds than the 800 MHz or 900 MHz band. The 700 MHz band is purely to provide coverage.
Reliance Jio sought the 700 MHz band because the telco needed it to deploy 5G SA (standalone). Airtel could manage the same without the 700 MHz band given it is deploying 5G NSA (non-standalone) and already has enough sub-GHz band for coverage.
