Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has put in a whopping ₹14,000 crore as earnest money to participate in 5G spectrum auctions while Bharti Airtel has deposited ₹5,500 crore, and Vodafone Idea Ltd ₹2,200 crore, said a Mint report.
“With ₹14,000 crore, they can buy ₹1.4 lakh crore worth of spectrum, one-third of all the spectrum put up for auction. This is clearly a statement, showing potential rivals what is needed to enter the Indian telecom sector,” Mint quoted a senior industry executive saying so.
Industry experts said this indicated possible spectrum purchases in the 3.5GHz and 26GHz bands for deploying 5G by the three carriers.
Bharti Airtel can buy airwaves worth ₹50,000 crore, but analysts estimate that it may spend about ₹36,000 crore for securing about 50-80MHz of 5G spectrum in the 3.5GHz band and taking about 500-600MHz in the 26GHz band, besides adding to spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands. “They will take a lot of 26GHz solely for the purpose of reduction in the spectrum usage charge,” a senior analyst told Mint, asking not to be named.
With a deposit of ₹2,200 crore, Vodafone Idea can purchase airwaves worth about ₹25,000 crore, but it may not have the financial might to bid for a lot of airwaves, Mint quoted experts saying so.
Meanwhile, Adani Data Networks, the surprise contender for 5G airwaves, has put in a paltry ₹100 crore as earnest money to participate in 5G spectrum auctions.
As per the Mint report, industry experts are of the view that the earnest money will allow the Gautam Adani company to buy airwaves worth about ₹650-700 crore. It is unlikely to enter the consumer mobility business, at least for now, they added.
Adani's paltry sum for the 5G auction is a relief for the three private-sector telecom players. Speculation about Adani entering the consumer wireless business had alarmed shareholders of rival telcos, bringing back memories of the assault Mukesh Ambani launched six years ago that forced a crowded telecom market to consolidate and crippled the balance sheets of the ones that survived, Mint report further said.
