New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday will start the auction of spectrum supporting 5G services in India.
About 72,000 MHz under nine bands will be up for sale with a validity period of 20 years in the biggest auction of airwaves supporting 5G, paving the way for 10 times faster telecom services.
Th
e Union Cabinet approved the auction on June 15 and allowed non-telecom service providers to bid for 5G spectrum.
India’s largest telecom operator Reliance-owned Jio, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and Adani Data Networks are participating in the auction.
The four firms together have submitted ₹21,400 core in Earnest Money Deposit (EMD). Jio has submitted ₹14,000 crore, Bharti Airtel ₹5,500 crore, Adani Data Networks ₹100 crore and Vodafone-Idea ₹2,200 crore.
Adani Data’s entry surprised many but the company has refuted reports of any clash with Jio. It has said it wants to set up a private network to help digitise its businesses from airports to energy to data centres.