Reliance Jio
has acquired additional spectrum in the 1800MHz band in Bihar and West Bengal in the 5G spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). With this acquisition, Jio has expanded its 1800MHz band spectrum in two circles, increasing the spectrum footprint to 26,801 MHz (uplink + downlink).
Jio is the only operator in India to have access in low-band, mid-band and high-band (700 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26GHz) spectrum.
What Reliance Jio chairman has to say
On the acquisition,
Akash M Ambani
, chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, has said that this will help the company to fulfil the growing traffic demands and superior customer experience.
“We have already demonstrated our commitment to the Digital India Vision by rolling out one of the world’s fastest and widest Stand Alone
5G networks
within 12 months of allotment of spectrum,” Ambani said.
“This new spectrum acquisition will continue to enable us to serve the aspirations of the new India, in terms of growing traffic demands and superior customer experience, which is no longer limited to only urban markets. We want every Indian to enjoy the transformational benefits of Jio’s next generation of digital solutions,” he added..
It is to be noted that Jio has already deployed the largest amount of spectrum pan-India on bandwidth efficient technologies like 4G and 5G.
Jio spent the least in 5G spectrum auction
Jio spent less than its counterparts –
Airtel and Vi
– to mainly buy spectrum in the 1800 MHz band to improve its 4G and 5G coverage.
For Bihar circle, it spent Rs 420.25 crore and for West Bengal circle, Jio shelled Rs 553.38 crore for a total of Rs 973.63 crore. (The above numbers are provisional, and subject to DOT confirmation). The company bid over Rs 88,000 crore in the previous auction. Meanwhile, Airtel spent a total consideration of Rs 6,857 crore while Vi spent Rs 3,510 crore.
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