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Reliance Jio, Airtel Mobile Users Tally Increased in November, While Vodafone Idea Faces Loss: TRAI

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel cumulatively gained nearly 25 lakh mobile subscribers in November even as troubled Vodafone Idea lost nearly 18.3 lakh customers, according to data by sector regulator TRAI. India’s largest telco Reliance Jio cemented its lead in the market adding 14.26 lakh net subscribers in November, whereas Airtel added 10.56 lakh users.

At the end of November 2022, Jio’s mobile subscriber tally stood at 42.28 crore, the levels rising from 42.13 crore during the previous month.

Bharti Airtel’s subscriber gains pushed up the mobile user count of the Sunil Mittal-led company to 36.60 crore in November.

In sharp contrast, cash-strapped Vodafone Idea lost 18.27 lakh subscribers during the month in reference, tempering its subscriber base to 24.37 crore in November.

As per TRAI data, the total broadband subscribers increased to 82.53 crore at the end of November 2022 with a monthly growth rate of 0.47 percent.

The top five service providers constituted over 98 percent market share at the end of November 2022.

The list included Reliance Jio (43 crore), Bharti Airtel (23 crore), Vodafone Idea (12.3 crore), and BSNL (2.6 crore), amongst others.

As on November 2022, the top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio (73.8 lakh), Bharti Airtel (55.6 lakh), BSNL (40.2 lakh), Atria Convergence Technologies (21.4 lakh) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (11.3 lakh).

The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio (42.28 crore), Bharti Airtel (22.5 crore), Vodafone Idea (12.34 crore), BSNL (2.18 crore), and Intech Online (2.3 lakh), according to TRAI’s latest subscription data.

Total wireless subscribers decreased to 1,143.04 million at the end of November 2022, from 1,143.63 million at the end of October 2022, sliding 0.05 percent.

“Monthly growth rates of urban and rural wireless subscription were 0.24 percent and -0.39 per cent respectively,” it said.

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5G Services in India to Attract Rs. 1.5 Lakh Crore in Investments in 2023, Tariff Hikes Likely: Report

From connecting people with 5G services to lowering the cost of operations, the country’s revitalised telecom sector is witnessing the bloom of reforms, and is set to attract more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore investments to build up networks in the new year.

Once the poster boy of India’s growth story, then a debt-laden segment that saw many players withering away and now riding the wave of reforms as well as big-ticket investments, the telecom sector turned a new chapter in 2022.

While the Adani group is yet to unveil its full-fledged plan for the telecom business, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has committed Rs. 2 lakh crore investment for rolling out a 5G network across the country by December 2023.

“It has been an exciting year because of the launch of 5G, a much-awaited technology for 4-5 years. This is a big step forward. We look forward to a robust rollout of 5G next year because this year is just the beginning.

“We are all working on use cases. We are telling state governments, ministries, startups and innovators to come out with innovative use cases in the Indian context, which will unlock businesses and will also solve some public problems, some challenges,” Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman told PTI.

He also said the government will continue to take measures that will lower the cost of operations for telecom operators, a move that will result in higher margins for the sector, which had been reeling under a debt burden for more than a decade.

Reliance Jio has committed Rs 87,946.93 crore for the spectrum that it has to pay over a period of 20 years, leaving a balance of Rs 1.12 lakh crore. While the company had invested a partial amount in building its own 5G core, it will invest the majority of the Rs 1.12 lakh in capex for 5G in 2023, according to sources.

Bharti Airtel is expected to invest in the range of Rs 27,000-28,000 crore and state-owned BSNL around Rs 16,000 crore in 2023 for rolling out an indigenously developed 4G network by TCS and C-DoT-led consortium. Later, the system will be upgraded to 5G.

Together, investments worth more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore are expected in the telecom sector.

COAI Director General SP Kochhar said the structural and procedural reforms in the telecom sector approved by the government last year such as e-KYC, doing away with Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) for spectrum acquired in a future auction, 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route as well as rationalisation of bank guarantee, Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), interest rates and penalties, and facilitating Right of Way (RoW) have positively impacted the sector in 2022.

Digital Infrastructure Providers Association Director General TR Dua said that most state governments have followed reforms led by the Centre and came up with telecom infrastructure-friendly policies this year.

Recently, Minister of State for Telecom Devusinh Chauhan informed Parliament that telecom operators are installing on an average of 2,500 base stations per week for providing 5G services in the country and 20,980 mobile base stations were installed as of November 26.

Telecom gear majors — Nokia and Ericsson — have ramped up their manufacturing in India. The government has also received investment commitments of Rs 4,115 crore from 42 firms shortlisted under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for making telecom gears.

Nokia said it is witnessing the world’s fastest rollout of the 5G network in India.

“In 2023, we hope to see continued government support in enabling the digital ecosystem to truly tap the benefits of the socio-economic applications of 5G technology. 2023 is also expected to witness wider adoption of private networks by enterprises and businesses for enhanced efficiency and security,” a Nokia India spokesperson said.

Ericsson’s MD, India & Head of Networks, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Nitin Bansal said that enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) are expected to be the initial 5G use cases in India. This technology will help to bridge the digital divide by addressing the concern of limited fixed broadband penetration levels and improving the data experience while on the move.

Tech Mahindra President, Communications, Media and Entertainment Business, and CEO, Network Services, Manish Vyas said 5G will be used to develop revolutionary applications and innovative use cases in industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, BFSI, and autonomous driving.

“We see 5G for Enterprise (5G4E) as our next growth strategy, and we are already doing multiple pilots on it across the world,” he said.

IDEMIA India, Senior Vice President, Rahul Tandon said as India ushers in 5G connectivity it opens up many new capabilities to enhance productivity and safety of not only online transactions but Machine2Machine (M2M) transactions as well.

While telecom operators are investing billions in building a 5G network, a senior Airtel official said there are no applications as of now that can help companies monetise 5G.

“5G is helping in offloading traffic from the 4G network. 5G is a very efficient and better technology but at present the applications like video, gaming etc are working well on 4G. We are yet to see any applications that can specifically help in monetising 5G,” the official said.

He also said the company expects growth to come from customers upgrading their service from 2G to 4G, pre-paid to post-paid and post-paid to home broadband, and tariff hikes.

The annual tariff hike by telecom operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio — in the range of 18-42 per cent has brought the companies a sustainable level of Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) situation in 2022.

Vodafone Idea had taken lead in November 2019 to raise mobile services rates by up to 42 per cent. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio followed VIL in raising tariffs.

The tariff hike in 2019 was after a gap of about five years. The data prices had nosedived by 95 per cent to Rs 11.78 per GB in 2017 from Rs 269 per GB in 2014.

Bharti Airtel is running a pilot to increase its entry-level mobile plan by about 57 per cent. The company has increased the minimum recharge price for a 28-day mobile phone service plan by about 57 per cent to Rs 155 in Haryana and Odisha.

A company official said it will take a look at the result of the tariff increase in another six weeks to decide on hiking the tariffs across India.

While VIL has been able to sail through 2022, the year 2023 is likely to be a make-or-break year for the company as the debt-ridden company awaits the government to pick around 33 per cent stake under the scheme to convert interest dues into equity.

A note by JM Financial in October 2021 said that VIL will need to have an APRU of at least Rs 190-200 by March 2023 to survive but the company is far from the mark and is struggling to check subscriber churn.

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Telecom Firms Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio to Hike Tariff by 10 Percent, Says Jefferies: Report

Users may have to shell out more for mobile recharge plans in the coming years. Telecom companies in India will hike tariffs by up to 10 percent by March next year, investment banking firm Jefferies has reportedly said. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are said to increase their tariffs in the last quarter of fiscal 2023, 2024, and 2025. Increasing pressure on the revenue and margins of the companies are likely to be the key reasons for tariff rise. The three major Indian telecos reported moderate gains in average revenue per user (ARPU), a key performance indicator for telecom firms, in the September quarter.

A report by Business Insider, quoting Jefferies, suggests that Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio could announce a 10 percent increase in tariff in the last quarter of the fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025. As per the analysts, increasing pressure on the revenue and margins of the companies as well as moderate gains in average revenue per user (ARPU) are the major factors behind this price hike.

In the quarter that ended September, Jio’s ARPU reportedly increased 0.8 percent, while Vodafone Idea and Airtel reported an increase of 1 percent and 4 percent respectively.

The analysts further state that the rise in subscriber churn, which refers to the number of customers that stop paying for service in a given period, and mobile number portability (MNP) requests, are intimations of competition in the telecom space.

Airtel seems to have started implementing the price hike by withdrawing the Rs. 99 plan under which it offered 200MB of data and calls at the rate of Rs. 2.5 paise per second. Last month, the company reintroduced the Rs. 99 mobile phone service plan with a price hike of about 57 percent to Rs. 155. The new plan offers unlimited calling, 1GB data, Wynk Music access, and 300 SMS for 24 days. This pack is available in a few circles.

As per recent TRAI data, Jio added 7,20,000 wireless subscribers during September, while Bharti Airtel increased its mobile users count by 4,12,000. Vodafone Idea is facing a subscriber count decline by 40,00,000 and its base shrank to 24.91 crore. Both Airtel and Jio are currently leading in 5G deployment in the country.

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Jio, Airtel Added More Subscribers Month-on-Month in September, Vi Saw Decline, TRAI Data Shows

India’s total mobile subscriber base fell by 3.6 million in September, with Vodafone Idea suffering a subscriber count decline even as larger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel added users month-on-month, according to telecom regulator’s data. India’s largest mobile operator Jio further cemented its position in the market, adding 7,20,000 wireless subscribers during September, while Bharti Airtel increased its mobile users’ tally by 4,12,000.

Notably, while Jio led peers in September subscriber additions, its net adds this time was lower than the 32,81,000 subscribers the telco had gained in August.

Ailing Vodafone Idea faced a subscriber count decline (by 40,00,000), its base shrank to 24.91 crore during September.

“Total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,149.11 million at the end of August 22 to 1,145.45 million at the end of September 22, thereby registering a monthly decline rate of 0.32 percent,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said releasing subscription data for September.

Overall, the number of telephone subscribers number in India (mobile and fixed-line together) decreased to about 117.19 crore at the end of September 2022, translating to a monthly decline rate of 0.27 percent.

TRAI said the total broadband subscribers rose to 81.6 crore at the end of September 2022, with a monthly growth rate of 0.28 percent.

The top five service providers constituted 98.36 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of September 2022.

“These service providers were Reliance Jio (426.80 million), Bharti Airtel (225.09 million), Vodafone Idea (123.20 million), BSNL (25.62 million), and Atria Convergence (2.14 million),” TRAI said.

Back in August, Reliance Jio toppled state-run BSNL to become the largest fixed-line service provider in the country, according to a TRAI report. It was the first time since the beginning of telecom services in the country that a private operator had gained the top position in the wireline segment.

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5G Telecom Services to Be Launched on October 1 by PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday launch the 5G telephony services, ushering in an era of ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones.

According to an official release, 5G will be launched by the Prime Minister in select cities on Saturday and it will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years.

The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is estimated to reach $450 billion (nearly Rs. 36,61,200 crore) by 2035.

Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.

The three major telecom operators of the country will demonstrate one use case each in front of the Prime Minister to show the potential of 5G technology in India.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio will connect a teacher from a school in Mumbai with students in three different locations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha.

This, according to official sources, will demonstrate how 5G will facilitate education by bringing teachers closer to students, obliviating the physical distance between them. It will demonstrate the power of Augmented Reality (AR) on screen and how that is being used to teach children across the country, remotely, without the need of an AR device.

In the Airtel demo, a girl from Uttar Pradesh will witness a lively and immersive education experience to learn about the solar system with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality. The girl will share her experience of learning with the Prime Minister by appearing on the dias through a hologram.

The Vodafone Idea test case will demonstrate the safety of workers in an under-construction tunnel of Delhi Metro through the creation of a ‘digital twin’ of the tunnel on the dias. The digital twin will help give safety alerts to workers in real-time from a remote location.

Modi will take a live demo from the dias to monitor the work in real-time through utilising VR and artificial intelligence.

“Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will launch 5G services in India on October 1, 2022, and also inaugurate the 6th Edition of India Mobile Congress 2022 to be held from October 1-4, 2022, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi,” the release added.

The various use cases that will be demonstrated in front of the Prime Minister in the exhibition include precision drone-based farming, high-security routers and AI-based cyber threat detection platforms, automated guided vehicles, smart ambulances, augmented reality/virtual reality /mix reality in education and skill development, sewage monitoring system, smart-agri programme and health diagnostics, among others.

5G offers speed multiple times faster than 4G, supports lag-free connectivity, and can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time.

It will help in providing seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communications. Also, it will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.

5G technology will help in connecting billions of Internet of Things devices, allow higher quality video services with mobility at high speed, delivery of critical services such as telesurgery and autonomous cars, among others.

It will help in real-time monitoring of disasters, precision agriculture, minimising the role of humans in dangerous industrial operations such as in deep mines, offshore activities etc. Unlike existing mobile communication networks, 5G networks will allow tailoring of requirements for each of these different use cases within the same network.

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), 5G can 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.

“5G can unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits giving it the potential for being a transformational force for Indian society. It will help the country leapfrog the traditional barriers to development, spur innovations by startups and business enterprises as well as advance the ‘Digital India’ vision,” the official release said.

The launch of 5G services in India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market after China, follows years of intense preparation.

India’s biggest ever auction of telecom spectrum held recently had received a record Rs. 1.5 lakh crore of bids, with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio cornering nearly half of all the airwaves sold with a Rs. 88,078-crore bid.

Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs. 43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea bought spectrum for Rs. 18,799 crore.

Gautam Adani’s group, whose entry in the auction was billed by some as another flashpoint in the rivalry with Ambani, paid Rs. 212 crore for 400 MHz. Adani group bought spectrum in the 26 GHz band, which is suitable for setting up a private network for end-to-end communication.

The auction aggregated the demand for a robust 5G ecosystem that can cater to its use cases involving IoT (Internet of Things), M2M (Machine-to-Machine communication), AI (Artificial Intelligence), Edge Computing, and robotics.

The Telecom Department has amended Right of Way (RoW) Rules in August 2022, wherein the charges for permissions to lay cables and set up towers have been made reasonable and a ceiling has been fixed for rates for installation of 5G small cells and optical fibre cable on street furniture.

The Department of Telecom has set up a 5G testbed with the help of IITs, IISc Bengaluru and SAMEER to develop technology in 2018.

A 5G hackathon was commenced in 2020 to trigger ideation and prototyping of use-cases by startups and has led to spurring innovative products, the official release said.

An inter-ministerial committee on 5G use cases has been functioning since 2021, in coordination with 12 central ministries, enabling the setting up of 5G use-case labs. Consultations with industry have been held enabling the 5G ecosystem to make handsets available.

C-DOT is also developing a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) in collaboration with local industry and startups. It has already tested 4G Core in collaboration with TCS and Tejas Networks successfully.

“All these will help in answering the Prime Minister’s clarion call on ‘Jai Anusandhan’. All these efforts are game-changers for India’s manufacturing and Telecom ecosystem leading to domestic 5G enterprise carrier grade stacks as well as innovative impactful 5G use-cases,” the release said.

 

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India Set to Roll Out 6G Services by the End of This Decade: PM Narendra Modi

The 5G telecom services in India are all set to be rolled out in the coming months. Ahead of the launch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that the country is also prepping to introduce the 6G services by the end of this decade. PM Modi made this announcement while addressing the Smart India Hackathon 2022 Grand Finale. Earlier today, Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hinted that the 5G services may roll out by October 12. It was earlier speculated to launch by September 29.

The Prime Minister attended the Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2022 via video conferencing. In his address, the Prime Minister said, “We are preparing to launch 6G by the end of this decade. The government is encouraging Indian solutions in gaming and entertainment.”

 

 

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Vaishnaw announced the possible date for rolling out the 5G services. He assured that the services will reach out to all major cities and key rural areas in the next two to three years. The government also claims that the 5G services would be affordable and accessible.

Meanwhile, the telecom services have already started informing their customers about the rolling out of 5G services. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks, and Vodafone Idea emerged as the highest bidders for the 5G services at the recently concluded spectrum auction.

According to PTI, Vaishnaw said that all the steps needed for the very rapid rollout of 5G are moving forward in a very nice and systematic way.

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Sony Xperia 5 IV Could Be Announced as the Company’s New Smartphone on September 1



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Department of Telecom Said to Receive Rs. 17,876 Crore From Operators as Upfront Payment for 5G Spectrum

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has received upfront payment of around Rs 17,876 crore from Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks and Vodafone Idea for spectrum they won in a recent auction, according to sources. While all telecom operators have opted to make payments in 20 annual installments, Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore equivalent to four annual installments.

Reliance Jio has made payment of Rs. 7,864.78 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs. 1,679.98 crore and Adani Data Networks Rs. 18.94 crore.

“DoT has received a total payment of around Rs. 17,876 crore. Only Bharti Airtel has paid for four annual installments at one go,” an official source said.

The country’s biggest-ever auction of telecom spectrum received a record Rs. 1.5 lakh crore worth of bids, with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio cornering nearly half of all airwaves sold with a Rs. 87,946.93 crore bid.

Gautam Adani’s group has placed bids worth Rs 211.86 crore for the 400 MHz in a band that is not used for offering public telephony services.

Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs. 43,039.63 crore, while Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum for Rs. 18,786.25 crore.

On Wednesday, telecom operator Airtel announced that it had paid Rs. 8,312.4 crore to the Department of Telecom towards dues for spectrum acquired in the recently concluded 5G auctions.

With the payment, Airtel has paid four years of 2022 spectrum dues upfront. The company had an option to pay Rs. 3,848.88 crore upfront and the rest in 19 annual instalments.

Airtel said it believes that this upfront payment, coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR (adjusted gross revenue)-related payments for four years, will free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G rollout.

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Airtel Reports 16.6 Percent YoY Increase in Mobile Data Consumption, Posts 22 Percent Rise in Q2 Revenue

Bharti Airtel, India’s second-biggest telecom operator, on Monday, reported a 22.2 percent increase in quarterly revenue, boosted by 4G subscriber additions and higher data consumption.

The average revenue per user (ARPU)– a key performance indicator in the telecom industry – came in at Rs. 183 rupees for the quarter, up from Rs. 146 from a year earlier. ARPU of rivals Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea for the same period was Rs. 175.7 and Rs. 128, respectively.

Analysts expected the first-quarter ARPU to be boosted by a residual impact of tariff increase done late last year.

The company’s consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs. 32,805 crore for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs. 26,854 billion in the same period last year, according to a regulatory filing.

Airtel said mobile data consumption surged by 16.6 percent from a year ago, with consumption per mobile data customer at 19.5 GB per month.

The company said in November, when it announced tariff hikes, that mobile ARPU needed to be at Rs. 200 and ultimately at Rs. 300, for a financially healthy business model.

Consolidated net profit rose to Rs. 1,607 crore rupees for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs. 284 crore a year ago.

The company has been raising money to fund its digital ambitions, including developing home broadband, data centres, cloud adoption as it prepares to launch its next-generation 5G services in the country.

Airtel last week won 5G spectrum worth $5.4 billion (roughly Rs. 43,000 crore) in the country’s $19 billion (roughly Rs. 1.5 lakh crore) auction. The government aims to begin the rollout of 5G – which it says can provide data speeds about 10 times faster than 4G – by October this year.

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Over 5 Crore Complaints Received Against Telcos Over Mobile Services in FY22, MoS Communications Says

More than five crore complaints were received against telecom operators related to mobile services during 2021-22, with about 54 per cent of them against Airtel, followed by Vodafone Idea, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, gave data on complaints received against various telecom service providers related to mobile telephony during 2021-22, as per which the number for Airtel stood at 2,99,68,519, and for Vodafone Idea at 2,17,85,460.

The number of such complaints against Reliance Jio was 25.8 lakh.

In all, nearly 5.5 crore complaints related to cellular mobile telephone services were registered by consumers through helpline numbers of operators at complaint centres during 2021-22.

The number of complaints against state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) stood at 8.8 lakh and 48,170 respectively.

“The complaints received at complaint centres through customer helpline numbers are resolved by the concerned service provider,” the minister said.

Where the complaints are not resolved by the service providers, the complainant can approach the public grievance wing of the Department of Telecommunications. All the grievances so received are monitored and resolved through the Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal.

“The number of grievances received during 2021-22 through CPGRAMS portal was 58911, out of which 58,224 were resolved,” the minister added.

To another question, Chauhan said the number of BSNL customers who opted for network port out stood at 52.3 lakh in 2021-22, while the subscribers porting in were at 28.8 lakh.

Stiff competition in the telecom sector drove both port in and port out for BSNL, he added.

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5G Spectrum Auction Enters Day 3, Received Bids Worth Rs. 1.5 Trillion So Far

The auction for the 5G telecom spectrum has garnered bids worth Rs. 1,49,454 crore at the end of the second day and the bids for the much-awaited spectrum sale are extended for the third day.

A comparison of the two-day figures shows that the 5G spectrum auction fetched Rs. 71,639.2 crore more than the 4G spectrum auction of 2021. In percentage terms, it is 92.06 percent higher. Wednesday saw five rounds of the auction, taking the total rounds to nine.

Earlier it was expected the auction would be completed on the second day – Wednesday.

The bids received so far are almost double the amount received for the 4G spectrum auction in 2021. The 4G spectrum auction in March 2021 fetched Rs. 77,814.80. The auction in 2021 was concluded in two days.

Giving updates about the second day of the auction, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said: “700 MHz has seen a good response, it has been sold this time. Good response in other low and mid bands as well.” The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently approved the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s 5G spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to bidders to provide 5G services to the public as well as enterprises.

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network capable of transmitting a large set of data at a very rapid speed. In comparison to 3G and 4G, 5G has a very low latency which will enhance user experiences in various sectors. Low latency describes the efficiency to process a very high volume of data messages with a minimal delay. 5G services are expected to be about 10 times faster than 4G. The 5G rollout is also expected to bring more development in remote data monitoring in sectors such as mining, warehousing, telemedicine, and manufacturing, among others.

Reliance Jio, Adani group, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are the four major participants in the spectrum auction. This is the first time that the Gautam Adani-led Adani group, which recently forayed into the telecom sector, participated in the bidding process of the 5G telecom spectrum auction.

Allocation of spectrums to the telecom operators is expected before August 15, and the initial 5G services in the country will start by September-October. Subsequently, high-speed 5G telecom services are expected to be offered in several cities in the county by the end of the year 2022.

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