5G auction resumes on Day 3, Jio’s spectrum spends at over Rs 84,000 crore

Market leader Reliance Jio’s estimated spends after Day 2 of India’s ongoing 5G spectrum sale is reckoned to have jumped to around Rs 84,300 crore as it’s likely to have acquired 130 units of mid-band (3.3-3.67 GHz) airwaves in addition to the pricey 700 MHz spectrum, high-band (26 GHz) and those in the 1800 MHz band, analysts said.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s estimated spectrum spends after Day 2 are estimated at around Rs 46,100 crore and Rs 18,400 crore respectively as they too added more mid-band, high-band and airwaves in the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. Both, though, have skipped the expensive 700 MHz band. New entrant Adani Data Networks is likely to have focussed on pan-India 5G airwaves in the high-band alone, restricting its spectrum spends to around Rs 800-900 crore for its captive needs.

Bidding in the 10th round on Day 3 (Thursday) of India’s first-ever 5G spectrum auction was underway, with the government expecting the sale to conclude later today.

Prices for some bands saw a rise on day two. A report by Credit Suisse showed that the price of the 1800 MHz band has risen 20% from day one to Rs9,700 crore, while those of the 2100 MHz band went up by 19% to Rs3200 crore. Price of the 3300-3600 MHz band rose 3% to Rs80,600 crore while that of the 26 GHz band gained 1% to Rs14,700 crore.

“After Day 2, RJio’s payout has likely jumped to Rs 84,300 crore, while Bharti and Vi’s potential spectrum payout is estimated to have risen to Rs 46100 crore and Rs 18400 crore,” ICICI Securities said in a note. It added that Jio has likely bid for 130 MHz (vs 100 MHz on Day-1) of 5G mid-band airwaves.

The government had raised another Rs 4,000 crore on the second day of the 5G spectrum auctions, taking its total proceeds from the sale to Rs 1.49 lakh crore.

"Assuming that telcos will utilize deferred payment option fully (i.e., 20 years), the government is likely to receive ~$1.8 billion as upfront payment in FY23 from the 5G auctions (NPV protected with an interest rate of 7.2%)," Credit Suisse said in the note.

Shares of Reliance Industries – Jio’s parent – were up 1.2% to Rs 2,448.75 on BSE in afternoon trade Thursday. Bharti Airtel and Vi shares were down 0.5% and 0.3% to Rs 671.65 and Rs 8.73 respectively. Shares of Adani Enterprises too were marginally down 0.2% to Rs 2,542.55 on the exchange.