Reliance Jio top bidder in India's 5G spectrum auction; acquires 24,740 MHz
2 min read 01 Aug 2022, 07:33 PM ISTThe acquisition of this spectrum will enable Jio to build the World’s most advanced 5G network and further strengthen India’s global leadership in wireless broadband connectivity.
PremiumIn a 5G network auction held by the Department of Telecommunications, Reliance Jio acquired spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz, and 26GHz bands aggregating ₹88,078 crore. The acquisition of this spectrum will enable Jio to build the World’s most advanced 5G network and further strengthen India’s global leadership in wireless broadband connectivity. Further, the company's 5G network will enable the next generation of digital solutions that will accelerate India’s AI-driven march towards becoming over a $5 trillion economy.
Under sub-GHz, the company has the highest amount of sub-GHz spectrum with at least 2X10 MHz contiguous spectrum in both 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands across each of the 22 circles. Further, in the mid-band, Jio is the only operator which has at least 2X10 MHz in the 1800 MHz band (with 2X20 MHz in six key circles), and 40 MHz in the 2300 MHz band, and 100 MHz in the 3300 MHz band across all the 22 circles.
Also, in mmWave, Jio has the right to use 1,000 MHz in the millimetre wave band (26 GHz) in each of the 22 circles which will be crucial to enable enterprise use cases as well as provide high-quality streaming services.
These spectrum bands are acquired for a period of 20 years and cost ₹88,078 crore. The spectrum payments have to be made over 20 equated annual instalments, with interest computed at 7.2% per annum.
Thereby, RJio will make an annual payment of ₹7,877 crore for this spectrum. Of the total, the telecom giant will pay ₹3,512 crore annually for 700 MHz, ₹94 crore for 800 MHz, ₹628 crore for 1800 MHz, ₹3,017 crore for 3300 MHz, and ₹625 crore for 26 GHz bands.
Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm said, "We have always believed that India will become a leading economic power in the world by adopting the power of breakthrough technologies. This was the vision and conviction that gave birth to Jio. The speed, scale, and societal impact of Jio’s 4G rollout is unmatched anywhere in the world. Now, with a bigger ambition and stronger resolve, Jio is set to lead India’s march into the 5G era."
In a statement, the company said, Jio has acquired a unique combination of low-band, mid-band, and mmWave spectrum, which coupled with our deep fibre network and indigenous technology platforms, will enable us to provide 5G Everywhere and 5G For All (consumers and enterprises).
With its unmatched 700 MHz spectrum footprint, Jio will be the only operator providing pan-India True 5G services with faster speeds, lower latency, and massive connectivity, it said.
Further, through the acquisition, Jio’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly to 26,772 MHz (uplink + downlink), which is the highest in India.
