5G auction in India: Breaking records, bids worth whopping Rs 1.45 lakh crore received on Day 1

The 5G spectrum auction made headlines yesterday, as it is set to create history in India by introducing a super-fast and highly connective network in the country. The bid for the 5G spectrum began on July 26 and surpasses all records on the first day.

Breaking the 2015 records, the first day of the 5G auction on Tuesday saw the government receive bids of Rs 1.45 lakh crore from the four contenders, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The union minister said that first-day bids “exceeded all expectations and surpassed 2015 records”.

A total of four companies are currently bidding for the launch of the 5G spectrum – Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, and an Adani group firm. Vaishnaw said that the bids of these companies on the first day of the auction were “strong”.

As per the minister, there were four rounds of bidding on the first day with the most interest in mid and high-end brands and strong interest in the 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands. Bids were also received for the 700 MHz band, he said.

The rules of the auction forbid any early disclosure about the details of the 5G spectrum bid, and which company bagged which spectrum will only be known when the entire process ends.

Vaishnaw also said that the government will allocate the spectrum in record time, in accordance with the August 14 deadline, and 5G services are expected to start rolling out by September. The auction entails the 600, 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300 MHz and 26GHz bands.

The earnest money deposit (EMD) submitted by the four big companies in the 5G auction has submitted a combined Rs 21,400 crore. Reliance Jio Infocomm has submitted an EMD of Rs 14,000 while Bharti Airtel has put in Rs 5,500 crore.

In the 2021 auctions for the 4G spectrum, Reliance Jio used 77.9 percent of their earnest money deposit while Airtel used 87.7 percent. The 5G era will open 10 times faster than 4G and 30 times faster than 3G, allowing millions to have an experience never seen before.