The government received bids worth around Rs 11,000 crore on the first day

Indian private telecom operators placed bids worth about Rs 11,259.11 crore on the first day of the 5G spectrum auction, which saw five rounds of bidding. The bidding process will resume on June 26.

The Government of India is selling airwaves worth Rs 96,317.65 crore.

According to the first day report published on the Department of Telecommunications website, telcos have shown interest in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands on June 25.

The Department of Telecommunications sold 141 MHz of spectrum out of the available 10522.35 MHz spectrum on the first day.

According to an analysis of the first day's report done by telecom expert Parag Kar, on the first day, telecom companies bought 60.4 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band for Rs 7,004 crore, 50.6 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for Rs 3,614 crore and 20 MHz spectrum in the 2100 MHz band for Rs 546 crore.

The spectrum bought in this auction will be valid for 20 years. Telecom companies can share, trade, lease and surrender the spectrum after 10 years.

Telecom companies can choose to pay the entire amount upfront to save on interest costs. The interest rate for deferred payments in this auction is 8.65 percent, higher than the rate of 7.2 percent in the 2022 auction.

For them, the payment options include partial payment with corresponding moratorium or 20 annual instalments, the first of which will be due 10 days after the auction. Prepayment is allowed without any penalty.

The government raised a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the 2022 auction.

Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel Limited and Vodafone Idea deposited Rs 4,350 crore as earnest money. Reliance Jio deposited the highest amount of Rs 3,000 crore, Bharti Airtel deposited Rs 1,050 crore and Vodafone Idea deposited Rs 300 crore.

Telecom companies may bid three to four times more than their earnest money.

According to analysts, Bharti Airtel could emerge as the biggest spender in the 2024 spectrum auction with an outlay of Rs 10,400 crore, as the telecom major aims to strengthen its sub-1GHz holdings and increase its share in the 1800-MHz and 2300-MHz bands. It is facing renewal of 42 MHz spectrum in six circles of Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, UP East and West Bengal.

COAI, the representative body of private telecom companies, said the ongoing 5G spectrum auction will help accelerate the rollout of 5G services across the country, thereby enhancing coverage and significantly improving connectivity.

“The 5G auction will lead to rapid rollout of 5G services across the country, thereby enhancing coverage and significantly improving connectivity. Moreover, the successful deployment of 5G will be a giant leap towards achieving digital inclusion,” COAI Director General SP Kochhar said in a statement.