5G spectrum auction sees bids worth Rs 11,000 crore, Bharti Airtel leads

New Delhi: The 5G spectrum auction saw bids worth over Rs 11,000 crore on Wednesday, with Bharat Airtel emerging as the biggest bidder.

The spectrum demand concentrated on 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands in the Rs 96,000 crore worth auction put up by the government.

While the 900 MHz band received bids worth Rs 6,985 crore, the 1800 Mhz band received bids worth Rs 3,579 crore, according to telecom analyst Parag Kar.

In the 2100 MHz band, Airtel was the single bidder at Rs 545 crore and in the 2500 MHz band, Vodafone Idea (VI) was the lone bidder, Kar posted on X social media platform.

The telecom department put over 10,500 Mhz spectrum in eight frequency bands - 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz.

The 5G spectrum auction witnessed participation from three bidders: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio Infocomm.

According to analysts, the 5G auctions will catalyse the rapid rollout of 5G services across the country, leading to enhanced coverage and vastly improved connectivity.

The latest Ericsson Mobility Report on Wednesday said that 5G subscriptions are projected to reach around 840 million in India by the end of 2029, accounting for 65 per cent of mobile subscriptions in the country.

A record over Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of 5G telecom spectrum was sold in 2022, with Bharti Airtel making a successful bid of Rs 43,084 crore.