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5G Auction, Day 2: What To Expect After Bid Amount Of Over Rs 1.45 Lakh Crore – NDTV Profit

Day 2 of the 5G auction set to start with round five of bidding at 10 am

The second day and round five of India’s biggest spectrum auction for 72 GHz (gigahertz) of 5G airwaves worth Rs 4.3 lakh crore will start at 10 am, after the first day ended with four rounds exceeding Rs 1.45 lack crore of bids.

Here Is Your 10-Point Key Highlights:

  1. Day 2 of the 5G auction — which would ring in new-age offerings and business models and enable ultra-high speeds, about ten times faster than 4G — will start at 1000 hours (10 am) and continue until 1800 hours (6 pm), beginning with round five of bidding today.

  2. On Tuesday, four rounds of the auction were completed on day 1, which saw bids exceeding Rs 1.45 lack crore for 5G airwaves from groups run by tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gautam Adani and Vodafone Idea on the first day on Tuesday.

  3. On Monday, all four applicants “actively” participated in the auction of the 5G spectrum, said Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

  4. The 3300 MHz and 26 GHz bands attracted strong bids – the mid and high-end bands seeing keen interest, the minister told reporters and added that bids were also received for the 700 MHz band.

  5. While the number of days the auction ultimately stretches to will depend on the demand for radiowaves and the strategy of individual bidders, the broad industry consensus is that it may end today.

  6. Mr Vaishnaw said on Tuesday that the auction process would most likely be completed by today and hopes to complete spectrum allocation by August 15; 5G services are expected in many cities by 2022-end. 

  7. The auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz) and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.

  8. It is expected that Reliance Jio could lead the spending, followed by Bharti Airtel, while analysts see limited participation from Vodafone Idea and Adani Group. 

  9. Previously, Adani had clarified that the airwaves it sought was to set up a private network to help digitise its businesses from airports to energy to data centres. Simply put, this meant no entry into the consumer mobile telephony space, where Jio is the largest player.

  10. How Fast Is 5G? Picture this; a 5 GB movie can be downloaded in 35 seconds using 5G internet as against 40 minutes in 4G; 2 hours in 3G; and 2.8 days in 2G, according to Bipartisan Policy Center. Day 1 highlights here.