In a countdown to the 5G era, India's biggest spectrum auction, which will pave the way for 10 times faster 5G services, will begin on Tuesday, and all eyes will be on telecom players' participation.
5G technology will be 10 times faster than 4G and 30 times faster than 3G, according to various industry estimates and the government. It will also allow a greater number of devices to be connected to a faster mobile network in a smaller area without any loss of speed.
Smart payments are already the norm in cities across the country and even around the world. The 5G technology, through greater speed, will facilitate faster payment options and will also support newer technologies.
How 5G Will Make Downloads Faster: From Hours To Mere Seconds
2G | 2.8 DAYS |
3G | 2 HOURS |
4G | 40 MINUTES |
5G | 35 SECONDS |
Source: Bipartisan Policy Center
Watching videos on mobile phones has caught up in the last few years. With the introduction of 5G technology, video streaming speed is expected to go up significantly due to increased bandwidth. In addition, some studies say that virtual reality and augmented reality videos will also be possible to watch.
The government had given its nod to setting up captive 5G networks by big tech firms. The auction -- entailing 72 GHz of the spectrum -- is set to commence on July 26, 2022, conclude by July end, and the rollout is expected by September this year. The spectrum will be assigned for 20 years.
Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had exuded confidence that telecom players would participate with enthusiasm in the upcoming spectrum auction and make it a success.
The Cabinet had also decided to enable the development and set up of 'Private Captive Networks' to spur a wave of innovation in new-age industry applications such as machine-to-machine communications, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) across automotive, healthcare, agriculture, energy, and other sectors.
Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Group will participate in the bidding process of the spectrum auction, having submitted a combined Rs 21,400 core in earnest money deposit (EMD).
India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm has submitted an EMD of Rs 14,000 crore ahead of its participation in the 5G auction. In comparison, Bharti Airtel has put in Rs 5,500 crore.
According to the list of pre-qualified bidders posted on the telecom department's website, the EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stands at Rs 100 crore.
Typically, EMD amounts give a broad indication of players' appetite, strategy and plan for picking up spectrum in an auction. It also determines the eligibility points through which telcos target a specific amount of spectrum in a given circle.
Vodafone Idea has put in an EMD of Rs 2,200 crore.
With its EMD at Rs 14,000 crore, the eligibility points assigned to Jio for the auction stand at 1,59,830, the highest in the list of four bidders.
The eligibility points allocated to Airtel are 66,330, while that of Vodafone Idea are 29,370.
Adani Data Networks received eligibility points of 1,650 based on its deposit. The 5G spectrum auction is scheduled to start on July 26.
The auction will be held for radiowaves in various low-frequency bands (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 megahertz) and high-frequency bands (26GHz).
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