Spectrum acquired in 5 circles to boost 4G coverage, capacity: Vi

Telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on Tuesday said spectrum acquired by it in five circles will help boost 4G coverage and capacity, enabling the company to offer "superior digital experience" for its customers.

In a statement issued after the conclusion of the spectrum auctions on Tuesday, VIL said it has used "this opportunity to optimise spectrum holding post-merger to create further efficiencies in few circles".

With the telecom industry gearing up for 5G play, VIL hoped that large quantum of spectrum in globally harmonised bands would be made available for all operators in the future at fair prices.

"Vodafone Idea entered this auction holding the largest quantum of spectrum with a very small fraction, which was administratively allocated and used for GSM services, coming up for renewal," it said.

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VIL, India's third largest operator, said spectrum it has acquired in the five circles will further help enhance 4G coverage and capacity, enabling superior digital experience for its customers.

"In the next few years, the industry readies to deploy 5G technology with India specific use cases. We are hopeful that large quantum of spectrum in globally harmonised bands will be made available for all operators in the future as well as it would be at fair prices that allow operators to have ability to rapidly rollout networks," VIL said.

Lauding the government's efforts to take Indian telecom sector from an era of spectrum scarcity to one of surplus spectrum, VIL asserted that the Indian telecom segment is well-positioned to drive the Digital India agenda, with sufficient spectrum availability and adequate number of market players.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bharti Airtel said it has acquired radiowaves worth ₹18,699 crore in the latest spectrum auctions. The company acquired 355.45 MHz spectrum across sub GHz, mid band and 2300 MHz bands, giving it "most formidable" spectrum holding in the country, it noted.

Spectrum auctions -- that put on offer a total of 2308.80 MHz of spectrum worth ₹4 lakh crore in seven bands -- ended on Tuesday, the second day of bidding.

On Monday, bids worth ₹77,146 crore had come in with Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and VIL participating in the bidding process, with the government saying the response ws better than expected.

There were, however, no takers for spectrum in the 700 MHz, a band that the industry had flagged as having exorbitantly high prices.