5G services in India to be launched by October, allocation by August 10, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

5G services in India to be launched by October, allocation by August 10, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, the 5G allocation will be announced on August 10 and services are anticipated to begin rolling out in October. “Call quality is projected to improve with better spectrum availability,” he continued.

Despite providing spectrum in ten bands, the government got no offers for airwaves at 600 MHz.

More than a quarter of the demand came from the 700 Mhz band, which had remained unsold in the previous two auctions, while around two-thirds of the bids were for the 5G bands (3300Mhz and 26Ghz) (2016 and 2021).

 

Spectrum received a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore of bids

A record amount of 5G telecom spectrum over Rs 1.5 lakh crore—was sold in a seven-day auction that ended on Monday. As the highest bidder, Jio, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, cemented its position as the market leader.

According to direct sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter, preliminary estimates put the entire bid amount at Rs. 1,50,173 crore.

The mop-up from the 5G spectrum, which might offer ultra-high speed mobile internet connectivity, is almost double as much as the Rs 77,815 crore worth of 4G airwaves sold last year and triple that of the Rs 50,968.37 crore acquired from a 3G auction in 2010.

Jio was the highest bidder for the airwaves thanks to its speeds that are around 10 times quicker than 4G, lag-free connectivity, and capacity to enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time. Following it were Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd.

The newcomer Adani group purchased a 26 MHz spectrum to establish a private telecom network.

The sources shared that once the information from the auction is fully collated, specifics of which company purchased how much spectrum would be disclosed.

Bharti and Jio have probably developed a 5G spectrum footprint across India with the bit of cooperation of Vodafone Idea.

The government made spectrum available in ten bands; however, it got no bids for the 600 MHz, 800 MHz, and 2300 MHz bands. Over a quarter of the demand was from the 700 MHz band, which had not been successfully sold in the two previous auctions, while just under two-thirds of the bids were put for the 3300 MHz and 26 GHz 5G bands (2016 and 2021).

In the two-day auction last year, Reliance Jio paid Rs 57,122.65 crore for spectrum, Bharti Airtel put in about Rs 18,699 crore, while Vodafone Idea paid Rs 1,993.40 crore for spectrum.

This year, radiowaves with a total frequency of 72 GHz—or gigahertz—that are valued at at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore were auctioned off. The auction was held for spectrum in low, mid and high-frequency bands.

The fifth generation of wireless technology (5G) would enable solutions like e-health, connected cars, more immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and enhanced mobile cloud gaming. 5G would provide ultra-low latency connections that allow for ultra-low latency connections in addition to enabling ultra-low latency connections that enable full-length, high-quality video or movie downloads to a mobile device in a matter of seconds.

The auction received bids totalling Rs 1.45 lakh crore on the first day, July 26, with just a slight increase in demand in some circles on subsequent days.

5G rollout to be launched in October

By October, 5G services will be available. He said that a total of bids of Rs 1,50,173 crore had been received and that the government would collect Rs 13,365 crore in the first year.

He pointed out that all spectrum bands were sold at the reserve (base) price, except for the 1800 MHz band, for which Jio and Airtel participated in heated bidding.

The highest bidder, Reliance Jio, offered a total of Rs 88,078 crore for 24,740 MHz of airwaves spread across five bands with speeds almost ten times faster than 4G.

It obtained the highly sought-after 700 MHz spectrum, which can offer 6–10 km of signal range with only one tower and serves as a suitable foundation for providing fifth generation (5G) services across the nation’s 22 circles or zones.

Adani Group purchased spectrum in six states: Gujarat, Mumbai, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, which is ideal for establishing a private network for end-to-end communication in the 26 GHz band.

Airtel purchased 19,867.8 MHz in total over five bands, but none in the 700 MHz range. Vodafone Idea purchased a 6228 MHz spectrum.

Vaishnaw claimed that despite being made available for the first time, the 600 MHz band attracted no interest because its ecosystem has not yet matured.

“The spectrum that was bought is sufficient to cover all of the country’s rings. In the next 2-3 years, 5G coverage will be good, “he observed

The government advises all operators that telecoms should enhance service quality with all enablers in place.

According to him, fixed wireless access will be possible on non-public networks using the 26 GHz application. Regarding last-mile connectivity, it is a good substitute for fibre.

Reliance Jio purchased spectrum last year worth Rs 57,122.65 crore, Bharti Airtel offered roughly Rs 18,699 crore, and Vodafone Idea purchased spectrum worth Rs 1,993.40 crore. The auction lasted two days.

Radiowaves worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore, or 72 GHz, have been auctioned off this year.

The largest telecom company in India, Jio, announced that it has purchased spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands, allowing it to “create the most advanced 5G network in the world.”

The speed, scope, and societal impact of Jio’s 4G deployment, according to Akash M. Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, are unparalleled anywhere in the globe.

“Jio is now poised to lead India’s march into the 5G future with a higher vision and stronger resolve,” said the statement.

For a total of Rs 43,084 crore, Airtel claimed to have purchased 19,867.8 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency bands.

“The company will not need to spend any significant amount on the spectrum for many years to come thanks to the acquisition of this large amount of spectrum strapped onto an already best-in-class existing pool of spectrum.” 

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel, said, ” This spectrum purchase at the most recent auction was made as part of a planned strategy to buy the greatest spectrum assets for a far lower relative cost than our rivals.”

Vodafone Idea said in a statement that it took part in the spectrum auction to expand its 4G coverage across India and start the 5G deployment process.

The minister stated that he is firmly convinced that the trend of affordable services will continue in India when asked about the type of mobile rate that consumers could anticipate from 5G as operators start rolling out services in October.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma