Jio Puts Massive Rs 14,000 Crore In 5G Auction Race

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What has happened?

As the country gears up for 5G spectrum auctions starting later this month, Reliance Jio has put in an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000 crore compared to Rs 5,500 crore EMD submitted by Bharti Airtel,
Rs 2,200 crore by Vodafone Idea (Vi), and Rs 100 crore by the Adani Group, according to data shared by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
With a stark difference between the Adani Group’s EMD and the other three telcos, especially Jio, experts believe that the conglomerate might not directly take them on in the consumer 5G space, at least for now.
However, the Adani Group, which has said it is entering the auctions, starting July 26, to build private 5G networks, Could possibly become a competitor of telecom companies in the enterprise solutions vertical, according to analysts.

The amount of EMD signals the intent of a company about the amount of spectrum it wishes to buy as it indicates its bidding strategy and spectrum buying capacity.
An applicant is given eligibility points depending on its EMD, based on which it can target a certain quantum of airwaves in select spectrum bands.
Market watchers say that a telco has the ability to go after radiowaves worth up to 7-8 times the EMD amounts submitted by them, although players do tend to keep headroom for manoeuvring and flexibility, based on how auction proceeds and the strategy adopted by rivals.
According to analysts, based on the Adani Group’s EMD, it could possibly buy spectrum worth Rs 700 crore.
Since the Adani Group has previously clarified that it has no intention of entering the consumer 5G space and is participating in the spectrum auctions to build captive private networks,
Analysts tracking the field believe that the company might bid in the 26 GHz millimetre band, which is a high speed low latency band, and thus ideal for private networks.
A total 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put on auction from July 26.
The auction will be held for spectrum in the frequencies of 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands.

Jio, meanwhile, can buy spectrum worth around Rs 1,30,000 crore and could also bid for the premium 700 MHz band which is best suited for consumer-related applications.
“…we expect Jio to bid ~100-150MHz in 3.5GHz band, 500MHz in 26GHz band and also potentially 5-10MHz in 700MHz band or selectively add to its spectrum holdings in 800MHz and 1800MHz bands,” Credit Suisse said in its report.
With an EMD of Rs 5,500 crore, Airtel is expected to restrict its bidding in the 5 GHz and 26 GHz band, Credit Suisse said.
“Additionally, Airtel could also look to selectively add spectrum in 900MHz and 1800MHz bands in circles such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, etc.”
It added that Vodafone Idea “will be able to bid for only minimum required spectrum: ~50MHz in 3.5GHz band and 400MHz in 26GHz bands”.

The Adani Group has previously said that it is participating in the auctions only to build private networks for business verticals like airports, power generation plants, logistics, and ports, among others.
While reports by Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and others reaffirm that the Adani Group might not be competing with the telcos in the consumer 5G space,
The conglomerate has nowhere stated categorically that it will deploy these private networks at just its own business verticals.
According to DoT’s rules on setting up private 5G networks that were released last month, entities can lease spectrum from telecom companies to set up their own private networks.
Experts believe that this is one potential area where the Adani Group could directly compete against the other three telecom companies.
This, clubbed with the general view that enterprise solutions will primarily drive revenues for telecom companies as far as 5G is concerned, could mean that the Adani Group is looking at that bigger share of the overall revenue pie.

Q) Internet was first introduced in India in 1995 in which of the following city?