Reliance Jio, Airtel, And Vi Submit Deposits For Spectrum Auction

The DoT has finally announced that Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vi have emerged as qualified bidders for the upcoming spectrum auction. Besides, the ministry said that these telecom operators have already submitted Rs. 13,475 crore for the auction. The auction is scheduled for March 1, 2021, where seven spectrum bands will be available.

According to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) notice, Reliance Jio has submitted the highest deposit worth Rs. 10,000 crore, which also means that it will only choose selected bands and might not go for all airwaves. Surprisingly, this is the first time any telecom operator has submitted that much earnest money deposit (EMD) for the auction. The ministry also said that telecom operators are allowed to bid only after getting the eligibility EMD.

Earnest Money Deposit Points Received By Jio, Airtel, And Vi

The DoT also pointed out that Jio has 73007 eligibility points, whereas Airtel and Vi have 24924 points and 6153 points, respectively after depositing 3000 crore and Rs. 474 crore as EMD amount. It is worth noting that EMD points will allow Reliance Jio to purchase a spectrum between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 70,000 crores, while Airtel can buy airwaves around Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 crores and Vi can buy between Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,500 crore. The operators will choose the spectrum bands as per their needs to fulfill the increasing demand for data.

Airtel EMD Is Higher Than Expected

Meanwhile, brokerage firm ICICI securities said that the Airtel EMD amount is much higher than expected. The firm earlier predicted that the operator might go for Rs. 2,000 crores. In addition, the firm suggested that Airtel might buy a 5 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz bands in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. Besides, the telecom operator is likely to buy airwaves in the 1800 MHz band for the five circles.