Bidding Worth Rs 1.45 Lakh Crore On Day 1 Of 5G Spectrum

The first day of Tuesday's largest-ever auction of mobile signal spectrum in India saw bids of Rs 1.45 lakh crore for 5G airwaves from companies controlled by businessmen Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Gautam Adani. All four applicants—Reliance Ambani's Jio, Mittal's Bharti Airtel Vodafone-Idea, and a company affiliated with the Adani Group—participated "actively" in the auction for 5G spectrum, which provides ultra-high speeds (roughly 10 times faster than 4G), lag-free connectivity, and the ability for billions of connected devices to share data in real-time.

According to Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, bids were also received for the 700 MHz spectrum. As per him, the government got offers totaling more than Rs 1.45 lakh crore on the first day of the auction, exceeding all expectations and breaking previous records. According to the procedure, it won't be known which company won how many airwaves until the contest is over.

On the first day, there were four rounds of bidding, with high-end and midrange bands drawing a lot of interest. Strong offers were made for the 3300 MHz and 26 GHz frequencies. The involvement of four bidders, according to the communications ministry, is "strong." He noted that there was a solid turnout for the auction and added that this indicates that the industry has recovered from its challenging period. He asserted that the government will distribute the spectrum in record time, and 5G services are anticipated to launch by September. The goal to assign the spectrum is August 14, he apprised.

The fifth generation, or 5G, would enable solutions like e-health, connected vehicles, more immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming, among others, in addition to powering ultra-low latency connections that allow full-length high-quality video or movie downloads to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas). Spectrum in a number of low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands is being auctioned off.