5G spectrum auction: Radiowaves worth ₹96,238 crore on block today, time, bands, players in fray—All you need to know

5G spectrum auction: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is auctioning 10,500 megahertz of mobile service radiowaves in eight bands to telecom players from 10 am today, June 25. Frequencies on auction across the spectrum include 800 megahertz (MHz), 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and the 26 gigahertz (GHz) bands.

Private sector players, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, are competing and are expected to shell out around ₹15,000 crore for their purchases, Mint reported earlier based on rough calculations from brokerage reports.

10th Spectrum Auction

Notably, this is the 10th spectrum auction since the process began in 2010 and the first for newly appointed Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. He assumed the portfolio only last week after the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

Despite being the 10th round, the scale is pared down compared to the 5G bids in August 2022, which saw a record ₹1.5 lakh crore generated from 72,097.85 MHz of radio frequencies. The DoT expects to sell 17 per cent of the spectrum at near reserve prices. Broad expectations are pegged at ₹10,000 crore in sales, with brokerages estimating anywhere between ₹4,000 and ₹16,600 crore, per previous Mint reports.

"The government begins the auction of Spectrum for Telecom Services today at 10:00 AM. To augment existing telecom services and maintain continuity of services, the government will hold the spectrum auction on Tuesday, 25 June 2024. This is in line with the government's commitment to facilitate affordable, state-of-art high-quality telecom services to all the citizens," as per an official statement.

Top 9 Things You Need To Know

• Spectrum auction for over 10,500 MHz radiowaves worth over ₹96,238.45 crore (at reserve prices) began at 10 am today. The auction bands include 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz.
• Bands bought at this auction will be valid for 20 years from the date of purchase, and telcos are allowed to surrender their spectrum after 10 years from the date of purchase.
• For payment, partial pay of two years' instalment or multiples of complete years from thereafter will be accepted. Another option is to pay 20 yearly equal instalments, with the first one due within 10 days of auction.
• Further, pre-payment of spectrum due is allowed without penalty, and buyers can opt for a moratorium for the corresponding number of years of upfront payment.

• Data released by DoT showed that Reliance Jio has deposited the highest earnest money, ₹3,000 crore, for the spectrum auction, which gives the company the potential to bid for the maximum radio waves.
• Next, Bharti Airtel has submitted the earnest money deposit (EMD) of ₹1,050 crore, followed by Vodafone Idea (VIL) of ₹300 crore.
• The 3300 Mhz band may attract the interest of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel as it is one of the key bands for providing 5G services with low capital expenditure. Radiowave chunks ranging from 20 Mhz to -100 Mhz are being put for auction in the 3300 Mhz band.
• Anticipating demand, spectrum reserve prices have been increased in 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands by 12 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively.
• DoT has not included any spectrum in the 600 MHz and 700 MHz bands in this auction.

(With inputs from PTI)