Your Tech Story

Spectrum auction

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio Top Bidder in 5G Spectrum Auction, Auction Ends With Over Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore.

India’s largest ever auction of telecommunication spectrum recorded a 1.5 lakh crore worth of 5G spectrum bids. It was a 7-day auction that ended on Monday. Mukesh Ambani’s Jio reliance acquired nearly half of all the airwaves sold with an Rs. 88,078 crore Bid. 

“The auction has been completed and in the next few days, till August 12, all formalities incl approving and allocating, and taking upfront payments will be completed. It seems we would be able to launch 5G in the country by October”, said the Union telecom Minister. 

He said,” Government expect good nationwide 5G coverage in the next 2-3 years.

Source: www.livemint.com

The government introduced a total of ten bands in the spectrum but it did not collect any bids for airwaves in 600 MHz, 800 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands. some (two-thirds) of the bids were for the 5G 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands whereas most (more than a quarter) of the demands were for the 700 MHz band. It is the band that was unsold in the previous auctions conducted in 2016 and 2021, surprisingly has a high demand in this auction which is being conducted in 2022. 

Reliance Jio
Image source: outlookindia.com

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio will be the only telecommunication company to offer 5G Internet connectivity using a 700Hz spectrum footprint. It has acquired the 700 Hz and 800 Hz bands around twenty-two circles. It will pay an amount of 7,877 crores per year throughout the next twenty years with an interest rate of 7.2 % per annum. 

Jio’s 5G solution is made in India, by Indians and to suit the need of every Indian. Jio is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fibre presence, all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem,” Jio highlighted in its statement.

Source: www.news18.com

With its unmatched 700 MHz spectrum footprint, Jio will be the only operator providing pan-India True 5G services with faster speeds, lower latency and massive connectivity,” Jio said in its statement.

Source: www.news18.com

“We will celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with a pan India 5G rollout. Jio is committed to offering world-class, affordable 5G and 5G-enabled services. We will provide services, platforms and solutions that will accelerate India’s digital revolution, especially in crucial sectors like Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Manufacturing and e-Governance and make another proud contribution to Honourable Prime Minister’s DIGITAL INDIA MISSION”, said Chairman of Reliance Jio, Akash M Ambani. 

Source: www.news18.com

Reliance Jio has purchased a low-band, mid-band, and mm-Wave spectrum, which strengthens stable and constant internet connectivity with the deep fiber network and inventive and resourceful technology platforms for customers along with business providers. 

The wrap-up from the 5G spectrum, capable of providing ultra-high speed smartphone connectivity, is approximately double at Rs. 77,815 crores worth 4G airwaves traded last year.

Gautam Adani’s Group, who participated as a rival of Mukesh Ambani’s Jio reliance, purchased a bid worth Rs. 212 Crore for 400 MHz, or less than 1% of the whole sold spectrum. This band was not used for providing public telecom services.  

The Indian Government has traded up to 71% of the whole spectrum, making Rs. 1,50,173 Crores. 

Along with offers to power ultra-low latency connections that allow a user to download full-length high-quality videos or movies to a smartphone in a flash even in crowded areas. 5G (fifth generation) would allow solutions such as e-health, deeply engaging augmented reality and metaverse experiences, connected devices, life-saving use cases, and innovative cloud gaming. 

Spectrum auction

Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest bidder during Spectrum auction 2021 with Rs 57122. 65 crores

The biggest bidder in the Spectrum auction 2021 was Reliance Jio with Rs 57,122.65 crores for 488. 35MHz spectrum (Gadgets 360). This information was conveyed by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in a statement. Reliance Jio after the latest bidding witnessed that the company’s spectrum footprint increased by 55 percent. With the spectrum increased to 1711MHz, the operator became the largest spectrum holder in sub-GHz and 2300MHz. In the Spectrum auction 2021, Bharti Airtel emerged as the second-largest bidder after Jio acquiring 355.45MHz of airwaves worth Rs 18,698.75 crores.

Spectrum auction 2021 came to an end on 2nd March 2021. There were a total of six bidding rounds in Spectrum auction 2021 and the e-auction this time was based on Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending Auction (SMRA) methodology. The total worth of bids fetched in Spectrum auction 2021 is Rs 77,814.80 crores for 855.60MHz. And, this time the auction went “better than expected” as mentioned by the auction officials.

Bidding in Spectrum auction 2021

The three main bidders in Spectrum auction 2021 that has put airwaves in 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2300MHz bands on bidding are Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone (Vi). The ministry also informed that there was no bidding for 700MHz and 2500MHz bands. The government put out a total spectrum of 2308.80MHz for auction. The bidders in a total bid for 855.60MHz spectrum which sums up to 60 percent of the total spectrum offered.

Spectrum auction
Image Source: business-standard.com

Reliance on bidding

The Spectrum auction 2021 was exclusively for the 4G bands and the government plans to throw another auction specifically for 5G bands. So, even if Jio has emerged out to be the largest bidder in this auction, the operator still needs to wait for the 5G bidding auction for its 5G services. Many other operators are also making progress in the 5G network technology as well.

Reliance Jio has mentioned in a statement that the company has acquired the right to use spectrum in 22 circles across the country in the recently concluded spectrum auctions (Gadgets 360). And, this acquired spectrum will be very beneficial for the 5G services that will be provided to the Jio users in the country for transactions in 5G. But, the latest Spectrum auction 2021 was all about 4G bands. Mukesh Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Industries mentioned in a statement that with this increase in the spectrum, the company tends to expand its digital footprint in more parts of India and prepare for the 5G rollout.

Airtel expanding its spectrum

Airtel after becoming the second largest bidder in the auction mentioned that the company acquired 355.45MHz spectrum across sub-GHz, mid-band, and 2300MHz. This huge expansion in the spectrum will help Airtel bring around 90 million additional customers onboard. Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD of Indian and South Asia, Bharti Airtel said that the company now has a very solid spectrum portfolio and this will enable the operator to deliver the “best mobile broadband experience in India.”

Apart from mentioning the future plans of Airtel in India and its spectrum expansion, the operator explained why no bidders went for the 700MHz spectrum band. The main reason behind this is an absence of the economic case which is based on the high reserve prices concerning the 700MHz spectrum. This is a low-frequency band that is extensively used for bolstering inner cellular coverage.

The company also mentioned that the reserving prices, particularly on this band, should be a focus point of discussion in near future. Because, if this band is coupled with the 3.5GHz band it will unleash the potential of India becoming one of the nations in terms of the digital era.  So, this is a very important issue that should be addressed by the government at the earliest as the nation will benefit hugely if these reserving price tags are taken off.

Apart from the bidding by Reliance Jio and Airtel, Vodafone was also one of the bidders. The company came last in the list with an 11.80MHz spectrum band worth Rs 1,993.40 crores. The government officials have mentioned that the spectrum of each operator will be valid for 20 years from now.