5G Spectrum Auction Extends To Day Four; Rs 1.49 Lakh Crore Worth Bids Received So Far, Says Vaishnaw

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said 16 rounds of bidding have been completed in three days and the auction will continue on Friday

The auction of 5G spectrum for mobile services will stretch to the fourth day on Friday after 16 rounds of bidding fetched bids worth Rs 1.49 lakh crore, the PTI reported.

According to the report, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said 16 rounds of bidding have been completed in three days and the auction will continue on Friday.

Bids worth Rs 1,49,623 crore have been received at the end of the third day, he said.

News agency PTI has shared the information in Twitter.

This is marginally higher than Rs 1,49,454 crore-worth bids received at the end of the ninth round on Wednesday, the second day of the auction.

Vaishnaw said the industry is committed to taking services to rural areas.

Telecom companies run by business tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Gautam Adani as well as Vodafone Idea are taking part in the e-auction to buy fifth-generation (5G) airwaves.

According to analysts, Reliance Jio may be the most aggressive of those in the race. Though details of the bids are not announced as yet, ICICI Securities said its analysis shows that Jio has likely bid for the highest spectrum worth Rs 80,100 crore, and likely opted for 10MHz spectrum in the premium 700MHz band.

Bharti Airtel may have bid for spectrum worth Rs 45,000 crore, spending 20 per cent more than expected, possibly in 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands.

Vodafone Idea Ltd has likely bid for Rs 18,400 crore for spectrum, while Adani Data Networks should have picked 26GHz spectrum pan-India, the analysts said.