Spectrum auction: Reliance Jio acquires 488.35 MHz across 3 circles for over Rs 57,000 crore

Updated : March 02, 2021 08:04 PM IST

Jio spent Rs 34,491 cr for 800 Mhz, Rs 12,461 cr for 1800 MHz, Rs 10,170 cr for 2300 MHz.

The auction which began on Monday had concluded today at 12.45 pm with 6 rounds of bidding.

The total value of bids received is Rs 77814 crore, the secretary said.

Telecom major Reliance Jio on Tuesday acquired the maximum spectrum, i.e. 488.35 MHz across three circles, for Rs 57,122.65 crore in the latest round of auction, said Anshu Prakash, secretary at the department of telecommunication.

Jio has spent Rs 34,491 crore for 800 Mhz, Rs 12,461 crore for 1800 MHz and Rs 10,170 crore for 2300 MHz.

After the latest round of auctions, Jio announced that it has successfully acquired the right-to-use spectrum in all 22 circles across India. Its total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly, by 55 percent, to 1,717 MHz and also has the highest amount of sub-GHz spectrum with 2X10 MHz contiguous spectrum in most circles. It also has at least 2X10 MHz in 1800 MHz band and 40 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in each of the 22 circles.

Jio said the acquired spectrum can be utilised for the transition to 5G services at the appropriate time, where it has developed its own 5G stack.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said, "Jio has revolutionised the digital landscape of India with the country becoming the fastest adopter of Digital Life. We want to ensure that we keep on enhancing experiences, not only for our existing customers but also for the next 300 million users that will move to digital services. With our increased spectrum footprint, we are ready to further expand the digital footprint in India as well as get ourselves ready for the imminent 5G rollout."

The spectrum auction began with 2,251.25 megahertz (MHz) radiowaves valued at Rs 3.92 lakh crore up for bidding. The auction entailed seven frequency bands for mobile services 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.

The spectrum auction which began on Monday concluded today at 12.45 pm with six rounds of bidding. The total value of bids received is Rs 77,814 crore, the secretary said. "We have received bids in all bands except 700 MHz, 900 MHz bands. 855.60 MHz spectrum has been acquired in this auction," he said.

Bharti Airtel had acquired 355.45 MHz spectrum across Sub-GHz, mid-band and 2300 MHz bands, for Rs 18,699 crore. Vodafone Idea spent Rs 1993.40 crore for 11.8 MHz spectrum across five circles, the secretary said.

In terms of percentage of spectrum sold, 800 MHz - 65.22 percent, 900 MHz - 38.87 percent, 1800 MHz - 42.87 percent, 2100 - 8.57 percent, 2300 MHz - 89.29 percent.

Band	Quantity put to auction (MHz)	Quantity acquired (MHz)	Percentage
700 MHz (paired)	660	0	0
800 MHz (paired)	230	150	65.22
900 MHz (paired)	98.80	38.40	38.87
1800 MHz (paired)	355	152.20	42.87
2100 MHz (paired)	175	15	8.57
2300 MHz (paired)	560	500	89.29
2500 MHz (paired)	230	0	0
Total	2308.80	855.60	37.06

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had on Monday said Rs 77,147 crore were received as the winning bid during the spectrum auction till 6 pm.

Successful bidders can pay the entire bid amount in one go (upfront), or exercise an option to pay a certain amount (25 percent for spectrum won in 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz bands or 50 percent for spectrum won in 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz bands) upfront with the remaining amount in a maximum up to 16 EMIs, after a moratorium of two years.

Spectrum will be offered for the assignment for a validity period of 20 years.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Published : March 02, 2021 06:13 PM IST

Spectrum auction: Reliance Jio acquires 488.35 MHz across 3 circles for over Rs 57,000 crore

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