India sold telecom spectrum worth worth Rs 77,147 crore as operators look to add 4G capacity and focus on 5G. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. led the demand, according to reports, followed by Bharti Airtel Ltd.
According to a Goldman Sachs report, Reliance Jio has likely spent the most in the auction at around Rs 50,000 crore, followed by Bharti Airtel Ltd. The report said Vodafone Idea Ltd. renewed its spectrum by spending around Rs 3,000 crore.
ICICI Securities said citing its analysis that Bharti Airtel completed 5MHz spectrum in the 800MHz band in five circles—Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Haryana. The company purchased additional spectrum in the 900MHz band, which will be up for renewal in 2024.
Bharti Airtel’s bidding was focussed on strengthening the sub-GHz spectrum, and capacity spectrum in 2,300MHz. Vodafone Idea’s bidding is seen in line with the bid for 900MHz spectrum in Tamil Nadu, which will cost Rs 1,180 crore, and 5MHz spectrum each in 1,800MHz band in Andhra and Uttar Pradesh-East for a total sum of Rs 2,160 crore, the brokerage said.
According to Axis Securities, the cash outgo will be keenly watched by the street given the high debt level of incumbents and continued delay in tariff hike. “This may also lead to funding gap concern for Vodafone Idea, given the continued delay in raising funds and renewed pricing aggression in some segments of the sector.”