Mumbai, (Asian independent) Leading telecom operator Reliance Jio said on Monday that it has acquired spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz, and 26GHz bands in the auctions conducted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for Rs 88,078 crore for a period of 20 years.
Jio said that its unique 700 MHz spectrum footprint will make it the only operator providing “true 5G” services across the country.
“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,” said Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm.
“We will celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with a pan India 5G rollout. Jio is committed to offering world-class, affordable 5G and 5G-enabled services. We 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,” he emphasised.
Jio said its 5G network will enable the next generation of digital solutions that will accelerate India’s AI-driven march towards becoming a $5+ trillion economy.
Jio’s 4G network provides the highest quality, most affordable digital services to over 400 million customers. The company said it will now raise the bar even further with its 5G services.
“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,a said the company.
Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel was the second-highest bidder with 19,867 MHz spectrum in various bands worth Rs 43,084 crore.
“We are confident that we will be able to deliver the best 5G experience in India in terms of coverage, speeds and latency. This will allow us to change a lot of established paradigms for both our B2C and B2B customers,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel.
Vodafone Idea, at third place, received 2,668 MHz worth Rs 18,784 crore while a unit of Adani Group acquired 400 MHz spectrum in 26 GHz band worth Rs 212 crore.
Vodafone Idea said in a statement that it appreciates TRAI and DoT’s efforts to ensure sufficient 5G spectrum availability across frequencies to provide multiple options to the operators to acquire spectrum in line with their business priorities.
“We have successfully acquired mid band 5G spectrum (3300 MHz band) in our 17 priority circles and mmWave 5G spectrum (26 GHz band) in 16 circles, which will enable us to offer a superior 5G experience to our customers as well as strengthen our enterprise offerings and provide new opportunities for business growth in the emerging 5G era,” the company said.
