5G spectrum auction ends with record bids worth over ₹1.5 lakh crore. Jio top bidder

Tags: Economics/Business National News

The biggest ever spectrum auction in India ended on August 1. The seven-day auction saw record sale of 5G telecom spectrum worth over Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Important facts

• In this auction, billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani's company Jio made the highest bid to consolidate its leading position.

• As per provisional figures, a total of Rs 1,50,173 crore bids were placed.

• This auction amount of 5G spectrum capable of offering extremely high-speed mobile internet connectivity is almost double the Rs 77,815 crore 4G spectrum sold last year.

• This amount is three times as against Rs 50,968.37 crore received from 3G auction in 2010.

• Reliance Jio made the highest bid for radio waves offering connectivity at speeds nearly 10 times faster than 4G.

• It was followed by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited.

• Adani Group has bought 26 MHz spectrum to set up a private telecom network.

What is Electromagnetic Spectrum?

• Signals are needed to connect cell phones and wireline telephone equipment from one end to the other.

• These signals are carried over the airwaves, which are required to be sent on specified frequencies to avoid any kind of interference.

• The central government owns all publicly available assets, including airwaves, within the geographical boundaries of the country.

What is 5G technology?

• The fifth generation mobile network is called 5G.

• The 5G network will operate in the millimetre-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which can send huge amounts of data at very high speeds.

• It is the newest upgrade in Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.

• Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G have been tested to exceed 20 Gbps (gigabit per second).