All eyes are on the auction for the 5G spectrum which is underway, generating immense curiosity about who will win the righs for 72 gigahertz of radiowaves worth ₹4.3 lakh crores on offer. The bidding process began at 10 am and go on till 6 pm, PTI reported. Four players Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani’s flagship Adani Enterprises are participating in the auction.
The telecom department is expecting anywhere between ₹70,000 crores to ₹1 lakh crore from the auctions. The number of days of auction will depend on the actual demand for the radiowaves.
The auction will be held 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.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, it is expected, will lead the spends, followed by Bharti Airtel while analysts see limited participation from Vodafone Idea and Adani Group. Jio has made a ₹14,000 crore Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) while rival Adani group made a modest ₹100 crore deposit recently.
