(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The auction of the 5G spectrum capable of offering
ultra-high-speed internet garnered bids worth about Rs 1,49,966
crore on the fifth day of sale on Saturday and the bidding is
expected to continue on Sunday, Trend reports citing The
Tribune .
The total value of bids in the telecom spectrum auction, which
began on Tuesday, has come within striking distance of the Rs 1.50
lakh crore mark.
“The 5G auction shows that the industry wants to expand, it has
come out of problems and is getting into a growth phase. The
auction results are very good, close to Rs 1,49,966 crore has been
committed by the industry for buying the spectrum,” Telecom
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a briefing in Mumbai, after a
telecom investors' roundtable.
The minister said that the auction and its“good response”
underlines the industry's maturity.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam
Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises are in the race to bid for the
5G spectrum, which offers speeds about 10 times faster than 4G,
lag-free connectivity and can enable billions of connected devices
to share data in real-time.
Besides powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow
downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile
device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), the Fifth
Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected
vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse
experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud
gaming, among others.
The reserve price fixed for spectrum is a“fair number” and the
same is visible from the auction outcome, the minister said.
Incrementally, Rs 111-112 crore came in on Saturday, the
provisional proceeds rising from the Rs 1,49,855 crore received
till Friday from players like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.
Industry analysts citing the telecom ministry data said that the
demand in Uttar Pradesh East - which had peaked over the last three
days - fell below supply levels on Saturday.
Earlier, the demand was for 75 blocks against the supply of 54
blocks, experts said, adding in the just-concluded round the demand
was for 50 blocks, four less than the supply in the circle.
The demand-supply pattern in Uttar Pradesh East indicated that
the bidding activity may be showing signs of winding down, although
the situation will be clearer on Sunday morning.
Seven fresh rounds were conducted on Saturday, and the bidding
will resume on Sunday (a departure from the usual practice) with
the 31st round.
Till Friday, about 71 per cent of the total spectrum put on the
block had been provisionally sold.
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