5g spectrum auction; All you want to know in 5 points

Reliance, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Group are in the fray for 5G spectrum auction that started today at 10AM. This is India's biggest-ever spectrum auction involving phone and internet and data. A total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of 5G airwaves worth ₹4.3 lakh crore on offer.

1. Companies participating in 5G auction

The top participant, which has indicated its interest to grab teh biggest chunk of spectrum is Reliance Jio, which is led by Mukesh Ambani. In second place is Bharti Airtel, which is led by Sunil Mittal and then comes the trouble multinational Vodafone Idea and finally, there is a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, which is led by Gautam Adani.

2. Who wants how much 5G spectrum

Reliance Jio has submitted an Earnest Money Deposit of Rs. 14,000 crore, the highest among the four players in fray for the spectrum. The EMD amount of Adani Data Networks is just Rs. 100 crore. Airtel has put in Rs. 5,500 crore as EMD while Vodafone Idea  has put in Rs. 2,200 crore. The EMD of all the four applicants adds up to Rs. 21,800 crore. Notably, Adani has said that the spectrum will not be used in consumer telecom space and that means it will not really be looking to compete against Reliance, Bharti or even Vodafone.

3. Benefits of 5G

5G offers ultra-high speeds (about 10 times faster than 4G), lag-free connectivity, and it can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time.

In addition to powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), Fifth Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming among others.

4. 5G frequency bands

The auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz) and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.

5. What the govt is expecting to garner from the 5G spectrum auction

Expectations are that the government will get anywhere between Rs. 70,000 crores to Rs. 1 lakh crore from the auction.