The Indian Government announced a significant boost to its coffers, earning around Rs. 11,340 crores from the 2024 auction of 5G spectrum. This year’s auction witnessed active participation in 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, and 2500MHz bands, further underlining the economic significance of the event. As per the Indian ministry, “The unsold spectrum will again be put to auction next time.”
Reliance, the largest telecom operator in India, spent the least in the auction and acquired spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in Bihar and West Bengal circles. This band will be used by the telecom company to offer 4G services. After acquiring the 1800 MHz band in the auction, Jio’s spectrum footprint increased to 26,801 MHz (uplink + downlink).
The company spent a total of Rs 973.63 crore in this auction. In Bihar, the telco acquired 5 MHz of additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for Rs 420.25 crore, and in West Bengal, it spent Rs 553.38 crore to acquire 9.4 MHz of additional spectrum in the same band.
The Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Akash Ambani, said, “We have already demonstrated our commitment to the Digital India Vision by rolling out one of the world’s fastest and widest Stand Alone 5G networks within 12 months of allotment of spectrum. This new spectrum acquisition will continue to enable us serving aspirations of the new India, in terms of growing traffic demands and superior customer experience, which is no longer limited to only urban markets. We want every Indian to enjoy the transformational benefits of Jio’s next generation of digital solutions.“
Meanwhile, the competitors of Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea spent around Rs 6,856.76 crore and Rs 3,510.40 crore, respectively. Both companies successfully renewed their expired spectrum in 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands and also bought an additional quantum of 87.2 MHz worth Rs 6164.88 cr, which has been acquired by TSPs to improve the quality of their services.
