The Department of Telecom (DOT) is gearing up for the much-awaited 5G spectrum auctions and in the endeavour to make it glitch-free on July 26, it will conduct mock auctions today and tomorrow ( July 22, 23).

The aim of this mock auction is to identify and address any teething issues so that the main process goes off smoothly. This is the penultimate step before the spectrum is put under the hammer for the bidders.

The government will put up 72,000 MHz of mobile airwaves on sale with 20 years of validity in the biggest-ever spectrum auction.

Also Read | Explained: How 5G will play out in India?

There are many sweeteners that the government has put in place. The biggest one is that the spectrum which will be acquired in 2021 auctions will carry zero spectrum usage charge. A spectrum usage charge (SUC) is paid on the adjusted gross revenues by telcos annually and is an added cost for telcos.

The government is expecting to earn Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore by auctioning 5G airwaves in July, sources told CNBC-TV18.

Also Read: 5G Auction: Telcos likely to buy spectrum worth up to Rs 1 lakh crore

RIL’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited gained 31.1 lakh subscribers in May, ahead of the upcoming 5G auction.

According to the telecom subscriber data, as of May 31, Bharti Airtel gained 10.27 lakh subscribers, whereas Vodafone Idea lost 7.59 lakh subscribers in the same month.

Also Read | The 5G opportunity: Changing the course of India’s future

(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)

First Published:Jul 22, 2022 11:09 AM IST