As per 5G spectrum news today, Jio wouldn't be too worried about its competitors taking the lead in 5G. The telecom company knows that, aside from Airtel, it doesn't even have a big competitor on the scene right now. Jio has the money, but he can also wait. As I said earlier, there are some big unknowns for telecom companies when it comes to 5G.
Synopsis
- Aside from the IPL (Indian Premier League), another area where Ambani are expected to place heavy bids is the spectrum auction to offer 5G mobile services.
- One thing telecom companies should keep in mind is that India's telecom sector is not yet a very mature political ground to facilitate the growth of 5G proliferation infrastructure.
- With the government announcing a spectrum auction every year, that means it won't be long before telecom companies again bid for 5G radio waves.
Aside from the IPL (Indian Premier League), another area where Ambani are expected to place heavy bids is the spectrum auction to offer 5G mobile services. The good thing for Jio, owned by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is that they have the money to make big purchases. Although they have amassed a huge EMD (security deposit) compared to their competitor, the question is, will they get on fully with the big purchases?
One thing telecom companies should keep in mind is that India's telecom sector is not yet a very mature political ground to facilitate the growth of 5G proliferation infrastructure. There is also a lot of confusion when it comes to corporate 5G. Jio's competitors aren't making big moves. Especially the highly publicized Adani group, which only presented an EMD of Rs 100 crore. This just makes you wonder if Jio might even delay big purchases.
Because telecom companies, including Jio, may not be doing their best in this spectrum auction
Jio wouldn't be too worried about its competitors taking the lead in 5G. The telecom company knows that, aside from Airtel, it doesn't even have a big competitor on the scene right now. Jio has the money, but he can also wait. As I said earlier, there are some big unknowns for telecom companies when it comes to 5G.
Aside from that, the spectrum is quite expensive. Just to give you a figure shared by Counterpoint Research: in India, per MHz of 5G spectrum it costs around Rs 317 crore for telecom companies. This is the price after reducing the cost. One thing that has been quite evident is that the government cuts the price of the spectrum when it sees that telecom companies are unwilling to pay more. So if all telecom companies postpone their large purchases at the 5G spectrum auction right now, it could mean that the same amount of spectrum could be available at the next spectrum auction at a lower price.
With the government announcing a spectrum auction every year, that means it won't be long before telecom companies again bid for 5G radio waves. By comparison, the cost of spectrum per MHz in other countries, as shared by Counterpoint Research, is Rs 24 crore in South Africa and Rs 71 crore in France and the UK. In Germany, it is Rs 132 crore. It's still considerably less than what telecom companies have to pay for spectrum in India.
It will be interesting to see if Jio actually spends nearly as much as he wants on 5G radio waves in this spectrum auction or waits longer.