5G auction in India today: What does it mean, when will 5G be actually available?

5G rollout in India will not just be a talking point, but reality soon. The first major phase of the rollout process will begin today, July 26 with four giants bidding for 72GHz of radiowaves worth Rs 4.3 lakh crore. The 5G auction will commence at 10 AM, while the entire sale process may take days, depending upon the actual demand for radio waves and the strategy of individual bidders. It was revealed that four companies - Adani Enterprises, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea) will participate in the bidding process.

How will the 5G auction process take place?

Ahead of the 5G auction, all these four companies had deposited Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) - a term mainly associated with property purchase. In this case, each of these companies has deposited a certain amount that even indicates their plans on purchasing 5G radio waves. To put it simply, the more one deposits as EMD, the likelihood of them purchasing the property (in this case 5G spectrums) is higher.

Out of the four companies participating in today's 5G auction, the smallest share of EMD comes from Gautam Adani's unit, while the highest deposit is made by Reliance Jio. This also secures Jio's purchasing capabilities among the rest of the buyers.

We can expect that the current stage of the 5G auction will not be as aggressive as there are only four participants. The government has confirmed that spectrum totalling 72GHz will be auctioned across several frequency bands, including 600MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz, 3300MHz, and 26GHz.

For reference, the Adani unit has deposited Rs 100 crore, while Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio has provided an EMD of Rs 14,000 crore. Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel had put in Rs 5,500 crore as EMD, while for Vodafone Idea the amount stands at Rs 2,200 crore.

Since it is just the first phase of the 5G auction, we can expect that companies will bid for low and mid-tier 5G bands, and the auction of higher-yet-more-expensive 5G radio waves will take place later - depending on the demand of the network in India.

So, when will 5G roll out in India?

Since the bidding starts today, it is clear that the previous date set for the 5G rollout in August, won't be possible. In that case, we can expect Airtel, Reliance, or Vi to start testing 5G commercially in September or October.

On the other hand, the Adani Enterprise will likely be looking to buy the bare minimum spectrum needed to set up a private network. It might be used at data centres or airports. Analysts will still be watching the company's bids closely to anticipate their telecom plans ahead.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier clarified that 20 to 25 Indian cities would get 5G connectivity by the end of 2022. He had also indicated the price in India of the actual network for regular users will be lower than the global market.