Govt receives bids worth Rs 1.49 trn in 5G spectrum auction so far

Bids worth Rs 1.49 trillion have been received for buying 5G telecom spectrum on the second day of the auction, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

The ninth round of bidding is on, the Telecom Minister said.

The government had received spectrum bids worth Rs 1.45 trillion after the completion of four rounds of spectrum bidding on the opening day on Tuesday.

Firms run by tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gautam Adani as well as Vodafone Idea are participating in the e-auction to buy fifth-generation airwaves.

Analysts said Ambani's Reliance Jio may be the most aggressive of those in the race.

Though details of the bids are not announced as yet, ICICI Securities said its analysis shows that Jio has likely bid for the highest spectrum worth Rs 80,100 crore, and likely opted for 10MHz spectrum in the premium 700MHz band.

Bharti Airtel may have bid for spectrum worth Rs 45,000 crore, spending 20 per cent more than expected, possibly in 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands.

Vodafone Idea Ltd has likely bid for Rs 18,400 crore for spectrum, while Adani Data Networks should have picked 26GHz spectrum pan-India, it said.

"It appears Adani has bought 26GHz spectrum in 20 circles (except in Delhi and Kolkata), and its total spectrum purchase could be 3350MHz for Rs 900 crore.

"Our estimate is provisional data does not reflect the entire purchase by Adani. We believe it should have purchased 200MHz spectrum in all circles except Gujarat where it would have bought 400MHz," ICICI Securities added.

Nomura said at the current overall bid value, the government could garner Rs 13,000 crore in upfront payments in the current fiscal and a similar amount annually over the next 19 years.

Bids on the opening day were largely across 5G spectrum bands of 3.3GHz, 26GHz and 700MHz apart from 1800MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum bands as well. There has also been some selective bidding in 900MHz and 2500MHz spectrum bands.