5G auction to begin from July 26; Know competitors, base price and other details

By Gargi Chaudhry | First Published Jul 25, 2022, 4:50 PM IST

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has authorised the sale of 72 GHz spectrum for a base price of Rs 4.3 lakh crore. According to the government, the participants' spectrum rights will be valid for the next 20 years.

In preparation for the 5G future, India's largest spectrum auction, which will pave the way for 10 times faster 5G services, will kick off on Tuesday, with all eyes on telecom operators' participation. According to different industry and government projections, 5G technology will be 10 times faster than 4G and 30 times quicker than 3G. It will also enable a larger number of devices to be linked to a faster mobile network in a smaller area without sacrificing speed. The 5G spectrum auction in India will begin on July 26th and will continue until all bids over the spectrum bands have been submitted by the participants.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

However, the frequency bands to be auctioned span from low (600 Mhz, 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2300 Mhz, 2500 Mhz) to high (3.3-3.67 Ghz) (26 Ghz). Furthermore, the government has announced that the winning bidders are not required to make any upfront payments and can instead pay in 20 equal monthly instalments.

Also Read | Reliance Jio bets big on 5G, deposits highest earnest money

Competitors: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cleared four businesses for the first-ever 5G spectrum auction in India: Jio, Airtel, Vi, and Adani Group.

Where will 5G be rolled out?
According to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, the 5G deployment will begin in August-September, with 20 to 25 cities first receiving next-generation internet service. The government already announced 13 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Chennai, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh.

Know speed during intital trials
As part of their testing operations, telecom firms like as Jio, Airtel, and Vi have been showing 5G speeds in various regions of the nation. Vi has achieved the fastest ever 5G download speed of 5.92 Gbps, which is far faster than Airtel's 3 Gbps and Jio's 1 Gbps maximum speeds.

Also Read | Cabinet nod for auction of spectrum for 5G telecom services

For the past year, India's 5G rollout has been keenly anticipated. While telecom companies have been conducting trials, developing the ecosystem, and laying out rollout plans for the next phase of internet connectivity, they have been restricted by the government and concerned authorities from providing them with a green light and the necessary hardware in the form of spectrum bands that can be obtained through an auction.

For more reliable and latest news