New Delhi: Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Thursday asked telecom service providers to be ready for 5G launch after the issuance of spectrum allocation letters. For the first time, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued spectrum assignment letters on the same day the successful bidders of radio waves made advance payments.
Vaishnav wrote on a social media platform, “5G update: Spectrum assignment letter issued. Requested TSP to prepare for 5G launch.” The Department of Telecommunications has received payment of around Rs 17,876 crore from service providers – Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Network and Vodafone Idea – for the spectrum won in the recently held auction.
The country’s biggest ever auction of telecom spectrum received bids worth a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore, with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio bagging nearly half of all airwaves sold with a bid of Rs 87,946.93 crore.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said his company Bharti Airtel received the spectrum allotment letter within hours of making the advance payment to DoT.
“In my more than 30 years of firsthand experience with DOT, this is a first! Business As it should be. Leadership in work- at the top and at the top of telecom. What a change! Changes that can transform this nation’s power to dream of becoming a developed nation,” Mittal said.
Airtel acquired 19,867.8 MHz spectrum by acquiring a pan-India footprint of 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands and selectively purchased radio waves in the low and mid-band spectrum for Rs 43,039.63 crore.
“Airtel paid Rs 8,312.4 crore towards spectrum dues and within hours was provided allotment letter for specified frequency band. E band allocation was given with spectrum as promised. No fuss, no follow up, There is no running around the aisles and no tall claims. It’s ease of doing business at work. Airtel has said it will launch 5G service this month, Mittal said.
While all telecom operators have opted to pay in 20 annual instalments, Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore, equivalent to four annual instalments. Reliance Jio has paid Rs 7,864.78 crore, Vodafone Idea has paid Rs 1,679.98 crore and Adani Data Networks has paid Rs 18.94 crore.
Richest Indian Gautam Adani’s group has put in a bid of Rs 211.86 crore for the 400 MHz band, which is not used to offer public telephony services.
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