5G auction: Jio surpasses Adani's bid; submits Rs 14,000 crore as earnest money deposit

NEW DELHI: India’s largest telecom service provider Reliance Jio (RJIO) has submitted an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have submitted Rs 5,500 crore and Rs 2200 crore, respectively, for the upcoming 5G auction. According to the list of pre-qualified bidders posted on the telecom department’s website, the much-touted Adani Data Networks has put in just Rs 100 crore, which showcases the Gautam Adani-led group is not going to bid aggressively.

This is a big relief for telecom service providers (TSPs) as with this amount, Adani Network can buy only spectrum worth Rs 700 crore, which means its bids may be limited to 26 GHz band.

The EMD quantum indicates a company’s bidding strategy and spectrum buying capacity as it gives the applicant eligibility points, based on which it can target a certain quantum of airwaves in select or all available bands in specific or all circles.

The company earlier said it wanted to set up a captive network for its own establishments and has no plan to enter the consumer mobility segment. It is estimated that a company can target a spectrum worth up to eight to nine times their respective EMDs in the 5G sale.

Adani Group, in its statement, said it didn’t have any intention to venture into the consumer mobility space and will participate in the 5G spectrum auction to have a private network

5G spectrum auction
This is a big relief for telecom service providers (TSPs) as with this amount, Adani Network can buy only spectrum worth `700 crore, which means its bids may be limited to 26 GHz band