Digital services provider Reliance Jio on August 1 acquired spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz and 26GHz bands in the 5G auctions conducted by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India.
Jio has acquired a unique combination of low-band, mid-band, and mmWave spectrum, which coupled with the company’s deep fibre network and indigenous technology platforms, will let it provide 5G everywhere and to all. With this, the company has consolidated its leadership position in all 22 circles and enabled Jio to become the only operator providing “True 5G services across India”.
The total cost of acquiring the right to use the technology agnostic spectrum for a period of 20 years is Rs 88,078 crore. As per terms of the spectrum auction, the spectrum payments will have to be made over 20 equated annual instalments, with interest computed at 7.2 percent per annum.
The acquisition of the right to use this spectrum will enable Jio to build an advanced 5G network and strengthen the country’s wireless broadband connectivity further. Jio’s 5G network will also “enable the next generation of digital solutions that will accelerate India’s AI-driven march towards becoming a $5+ trillion economy”, the company said in a release.
It added: “Jio 5G will ensure that every Indian gets to access the most transformative digital services and platforms offered anywhere in the world. Jio’s 5G solution is made in India, by Indians and to suit the need of every Indian. Jio is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fibre presence, all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem.”
“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,” Reliance Jio Infocomm said. It added: “Through this acquisition, Jio’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly to 26,772 MHz (uplink + downlink), which is the highest in India.”
Notably, Jio 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 and is the only operator which has at least 2X10 MHz in 1800 MHz band (with 2X20 MHz in six key circles), 40 MHz in 2300 MHz band and 100 MHz in 3300 MHz band across all the 22 circles.
Additionally, Jio also 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.
Speaking about the acquisition, 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.”
He further said that Jio Infocomm will celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with a pan India 5G rollout and added that the company “will provide services, platforms and solutions that will accelerate India’s digital revolution, especially in crucial sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and e-governance and make another proud contribution to Honourable Prime Minister’s Digital India Mission”.
(Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.)
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