5G spectrum auction; Govt gets bids worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore

 The government has received bids worth over Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the 5G spectrum auction on the seventh day on Monday.  The first-ever auction of the 5G spectrum in India began on July 26. The bidding for the auction concluded after a total of 40 rounds of bidding that were held in the past seven days. The provisional value of the bids received after the 40 rounds stood at Rs 1,50,173 crore, according to sources. On the seventh and the last day of the auction, bids worth Rs 43 crore were received.  On the opening day of the auction on July 26, bids worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore were received. Four rounds of spectrum bidding were held on the first day.  According to sources, Reliance Jio has been the most aggressive bidder.  Four firms are in the fray for the 5G auction. These firms are – Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Bharti Airtel Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and Adani Data Networks Limited.  Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has been the most aggressive in the bids followed by Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Airtel.  This is evident from the earnest money deposit (EMD) submitted by the firms. Put together the four companies have deposited Rs 21,800 crore as EMD.  More than half of this amount was deposited by Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest telecom operator in India. Reliance Jio Infocomm has put in Rs 14,000 crore as EMD followed by Bharti Airtel Limited at Rs 5,500 crore.  Vodafone Idea Limited has deposited Rs 2,200 crore as EMD for the 5G auction while EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stands at Rs 100 crore.  EMD amounts give a broad indication of the company’s plan for picking up the spectrum in an auction. The EMD determines the eligibility points, through which telcos target a specific amount of spectrum in a given circle.  With its EMD at Rs 14,000 crore, the eligibility points assigned to Reliance Jio Infocomm for the auction stand at 1,59,830, DoT data showed. Eligibility points allocated to Bharti Airtel stand at 66,330 and for Vodafone Idea Limited it stands at 29,370. The eligibility points allocated to Adani Data Networks Ltd are the lowest at 1,650.