Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has deposited Rs 3,000 crore as earnest money for the upcoming spectrum auction, nearly three times the amount submitted by rival Bharti Airtel Ltd, according to details submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have deposited Rs 1,050 crore and Rs 300 crore as earnest money, respectively, according to DoT.
Notably, in the previous spectrum auction, the telecom department received earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 21,800 crore. During India's first 5G auction in July 2022, the government successfully garnered over Rs 1.5 lakh crore in revenue.
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Jio has deposited the maximum amount despite none of its licenses coming up for renewal, whereas Airtel and Vodafone Idea need to renew airwaves in certain circles in the upcoming auction on June 6.
In the upcoming auction, the Sunil Mittal-led telco needs to renew airwaves in J&K, Odisha, Bihar, UP (East), West Bengal and Assam. Vodafone Idea, which recently raised funds through the FPO, needs to renew the spectrum in West Bengal and UP West circles.
Successful bidders will be granted spectrum rights for 20 years, with provisions allowing for payments to be made in 20 equal annual instalments.
The department has allocated the highest 21,363 eligibility points to Jio for the upcoming auction followed by 7,613 to Airtel and 2,200 to Vi. All telcos can bid in any band in any service area depending on the eligibility points and spectrum caps.
According to information on the DoT website, Jio had a net worth of Rs 2.31 lakh crore as of December 31, 2023. As of May 6, 2024, Airtel’s net worth was Rs 86,260 crore, while Vi's net worth was a negative Rs 1.17 lakh crore as of May 3, 2024.
The telecom department will auction spectrum worth Rs 93,000 crore on June 6. Spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands will be put on sale.
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