5G Spectrum auction enters day 3; 10th round of bidding underway

India's 5G spectrum auctions entered Day 3 on Thursday with tenth round of bidding for airwaves that would power lag-free connectivity and ultra-high speed internet. 

On Wednesday, the auctions garnered Rs 1.49 lakh crore as aggressive bidding across multiple bands by players like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel sustained the tempo, and pushed the sale over to the third day. 

As many as five rounds of bidding were conducted on Wednesday, and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said "good competition" was seen in almost all bands on offer. 

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that "good competition" was seen in almost all bands on offer. Vaishnaw expressed happiness at the response received for the 700 MHz band, which did not find any takers in the last two auctions held in 2016 and 2021.

In all, the auction is being held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz), mid (3,300 MHz) and high (26 GHz) frequency bands. 

A total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore is up for bidding.