India's first 5G spectrum auction concluded after seven days of bidding. Monday was the seventh day of the auction. According to PTI sources, proceeds from the provisional sale of airwaves amounted to Rs 1,50,173 crore.
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Gautam Adani's Adani Data Networks were among the bidders for 5G airwaves.
According to reports, rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel were engaged in an intense bidding for the coveted 1,800 Mhz frequencies, mainly for UP East circle.
The UP East circle witnessed some intense bidding on Sunday. The circle, that has 10 crore mobile subscribers, accounted for all the incremental spectrum sales on Sunday. There was a fierce battle between Jio and Airtel for the airwaves.
Monday was the 38th round of bidding for the 5G spectrum.
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier stated that the 5G auction underscored that the industry wants to expand and has entered a growth phase. The auction outcome proves that the reserve price fixed for the spectrum is “fair”.
Besides 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), the 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.
Also read: 5G spectrum auction bids cross Rs 1.50 lakh cr; UP East sees renewed interest