India's top three telecom companies—Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Vodafone Idea Ltd.—and billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Data Networks Ltd. have been named as pre-qualified bidders for the upcoming 5G spectrum auctions.
The four have been named in the list issued by the Department of Telecommunications before the spectrum auction on July 26. They have pledged earnest money deposit to acquire eligibility points that determines the number of airwaves they can pick up.
The four companies are allowed to bid in any band and any circle, the notification said.
The earnest money deposit by the four applicants are:
Reliance Jio: Rs 14,000 crore
Adani Data: Rs 100 crore
Bharti Airtel: Rs 5,500 crore
Vodafone Idea: Rs 2,200 crore
Accordingly, they were allocated the following eligibility points:
Reliance Jio: 1,59,830
Adani Data: 1,650
Bharti Airtel: 66,330
Vodafone Idea: 29,370
To be sure, the Adani Group had clarified that its intention is not to enter consumer communication services, after PTI reported that it was planning to acquire telecom airwaves.
Disclaimer: Adani Enterprises is in the process of acquiring a 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd., the owner of BQ Prime.
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