Local carrier Bharti Airtel was the top bidder in this spectrum auction
The delayed 5G spectrum auction in India concluded, raising a total of INR113.4 billion ($1.3 billion), as the country’s three main carriers spent a fraction of the sums they previously spent in the previous 5G spectrum auction.
The Indian government confirmed it sold a total of 141 megahertz of spectrum across eight bands, including 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz.
Local carrier Bharti Airtel was the top bidder in the auction. The carrier spent a total of INR68.6 billion to acquire 97 megahertz of spectrum, followed by Vodafone Idea which acquired frequencies for a total of INR 35.1 billion and Reliance Jio Infocomm, who spent nearly INR10 billion to secure additional 5G frequencies.
Industry analyst had previously said that Indian operators were only expected to secure additional 5G spectrum for licenses due to expire soon in certain telecoms circles across the country.
The government of India was expecting to auction more than 10.5 GHz of capacity spread across eight frequency bands for the provision of a range of services, including 5G. The bands offered at the process include the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz.
The spectrum licenses on offer had a combined reserve price of INR962.4 billion ($11.53 billion).
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The new 5G spectrum will be assigned for 20 years and successful bidders will be allowed to make payments in 20 equal annual installments, according to India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The process experienced some delays as the auction was initially expected to occur in March.
India completed its first 5G spectrum auction in July 2022. Reliance Jio walked away with the most spectrum, having spent $11 billion. Airtel won spectrum worth $5.4 billion, while Vodafone received spectrum worth $2.4 billion. Finally, Adani purchased spectrum worth approximately $27 million, which it will use to offer private 5G network services.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has already completed the rollout of 5G technology in India. The carrier has been rapidly expanding its 5G network using Standalone (SA) architecture since October 2022. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel previously said it expected to cover the entire country with 5G technology by March 2024.
Rival operator Vodafone Idea is expected to launch its 5G network this year and is currently in negotiations with vendors for 5G contracts, according to recent reports.