The Dream Of 5G

The Big-ticket 5G Spectrum Auction Has Netted A Massive Sum For The Government. It Is Now Over To Telcos To Monetise The Spectrum, While Consumers Can Look Forward To A Bouquet Of Services

- Krishna Gopalan

The auction of 5G spectrum in India has led to a lot of happy faces. The government is pleased at garnering more than ₹1.5 lakh crore, beating all expectations as well as past revenue figures for spectrum auctions. Industry watchers are beaming as this will set in motion the next phase of India’s data revolution, giving consumers access to ultra-high speed data, and put the country on the global 5G map. And telecom operators who won 5G spectrum are smiling as they can use this precious commodity in a multitude of ways—data finally is the new oil.

Amid all this happiness, there are two key takeaways: one, the debt on the balance sheets of the three big telcos—Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea—which paid large sums of money for the spectrum; and two, what is in store for the consumer who is looking for highspeed data at an affordable price.

The 5G spectrum auction was arduous. It took a week and over 40 rounds of bidding for the auction to conclude. Of a total of 72.09 GHz put out, 51.23 GHz, or over 70 per cent, was picked up. Reliance Jio spent ₹88,078 crore followed by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (see table ‘5G Spectrum Auction’). Before this auction, the highest revenue figure was ₹1.13 lakh crore, which the government had garnered in 2015 from the auction of 2G and 3G spectrum.

“As expected, most of the spectrum barring 1,800 MHz was sold at the base price. There was enough on offer in the 5G bands for all the three telcos to buy,” says Neerav Dalal, AVP (Research), MIB Securities India. With spectrum in their possession, operators can now look to offer a diversified suite of offerings across the spheres of mobility, data and enterprise.