The country’s two leading telecom operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are expected to spend between Rs 62,000-Rs 80,000 crore collectively in the upcoming auction to buy predominantly 5G spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and millimetre bands, depending on the formula for bidding that they eventually finalise, say sources in the know.
Given that the Adani group and Vodafone Idea are also looking to play a limited part in the auction, analysts say the figure could hit around Rs 1 trillion from the sale of these two bands alone.
At least one of the telcos points out that it estimates