5G spectrum auction: date in India, price, participants, frequency bands on sale, etc.

The deployment of 5G in India has been highly anticipated for a year. While telecom companies have conducted trials, developed the ecosystem and established deployment plans for the next phase of internet connectivity, they are being restricted by the government and relevant authorities to give them the green light and the necessary hardware. in the form of frequency bands. which can be acquired through an auction. As things have evolved considerably over the past two months, the rollout of 5G may not be far off as the spectrum auction is fast approaching. Here’s a quick rundown of India’s 5G spectrum auction date, spectrum bands for auction, price, and more.

What is the 5G spectrum auction?

In order for companies and businesses to bring the next generation of internet technology, they will have to go through securing the rights to the spectrum bands. For this, the government will organize an auction where registered participants will bid for the spectrums required in their technologies and acquire the rights to use them to offer services to the masses such as commercial telecom calls and 5G Internet.

For those who don’t know, the telecommunications spectrum is the space in which the radio frequency bands operate. This space is managed by the government and loaned to telecom operators such as Airtel, Jio and Vi to provide 2G, 4G and other wireless services.

India 5G Spectrum Auction Date

The 5G spectrum auction in India will officially start on July 26 and will last until every bid on the spectrum bands has been made by the participants.

Price, validity and frequency bands of 5G spectrum auctions

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approved the auctioning of a total of 72 GHz of spectrum valued at a base price of Rs 4.3 lakh crore. According to the government, spectrum rights acquired by participants will last for the next 20 years.

That said, the frequency bands to go under the hammer in the auction range from low (600 Mhz, 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2300 Mhz, 2500 Mhz) to mid (3.3 -3.67 Ghz) too high (26 Ghz). Furthermore, the government has confirmed that successful bidders have no obligation to make upfront payments and can instead make the payments in 20 equal monthly installments.

5G Spectrum Auction Participants

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approved up to four companies, namely Jio, Airtel, Vi and Adani Group, for India’s first-ever 5G spectrum auction. The participants also announced the deposit for the same, which are as follows:

Addiction Jio

The current telecom market leader, Reliance Jio is ready for the upcoming 5G spectrum auction by conducting 5G connectivity tests in different parts of the country and rigorously developing technologies behind the scenes. That said, the telecom player has deposited a total of Rs 14,000 crore as an earnest money deposit (EMD), which is a form of token money given to the government before the actual auction takes place. .

Bharti Airtel

Since Jio’s arrival when other telecom players were closing left and right, Airtel has so far risen to meet the needs of its subscribers. The telecom operator was successfully named the second participant in the 5G spectrum auction and hence deposited a total sum of Rs 5,500 crore in the form of earnest money (EMD).

Vodafone Idea Limited

The third telecom player to participate in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction is Vodafone Idea Limited, which is not looking to spend too much on spectrum bands at the moment and has therefore submitted Rs 2,200 as a deposit (EMD ). Vi will initially prioritize building 5G waves in limited quantities, also in key areas

Adani Data Networks

The fourth and final participant in the 5G spectrum auction is Adani Data Networks, which is the subsidiary of the Adani Group that specializes in building data centers across the country. When news broke that the Adani Group was seeking a spot in the 5G auction, many speculated that the company would enter the commercial telecommunications sector and compete with Jio, Airtel and Vi. It turns out that Adani Group wants to acquire 5G spectrum to provide private network solutions in airports, logistics, power generation, transmission and other sectors for which it has collected an amount of Rs 100 crore as earnest money deposit (EMD).

5G rollout schedule in India

According to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, the 5G rollout will begin in August-September, where 20-25 cities will initially be able to experience next-generation internet connectivity. That number rose from 13 cities, as previously reported by the government, which included Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

5G speed

Telecom players such as Jio, Airtel and Vi have demonstrated 5G speeds in various parts of the country as part of their trial procedures. The highest 5G download speed ever recorded so far is 5.92Gbps by Vi, which is significantly faster than Airtel’s 3Gbps and Jio’s 1Gbps peak speeds. However, in real-world scenarios, this number can drop significantly as more people confined to a particular area use 5G simultaneously.

5G spectrum auction news

DoT Releases List of Final Bidders for 5G Spectrum Auction (July 23)

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has authorized Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Ltd and Adani Data Networks to participate in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction to be held from July 26.