Reliance Jio acquired spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz and 26GHz bands in the auctions conducted by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. The acquisition of the right to use this spectrum will enable Reliance Jio to build an advanced 5G network and further strengthen India’s global leadership in wireless broadband connectivity. Jio’s 5G network will enable the next generation of digital solutions that will accelerate India’s AI-driven march towards becoming a US$ 5+ trillion economy.
Akash M Ambani, shairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm said “We have always believed that India will become a leading economic power in the world by adopting the power of breakthrough technologies. This was the vision and conviction that gave birth to Jio. The speed, scale and societal impact of Jio’s 4G rollout is unmatched anywhere in the world. Now, with a bigger ambition and stronger resolve, Jio is set to lead India’s march into the 5G era.”
Key Highlights of Reliance Jio 5G Spectrum Acquisition
Circle wise details of spectrum acquired are provided in the following table:
| Circle | 700 MHz (paired) | 800 MHz (paired) | 1800 MHz(paired) | 3300 MHz (unpaired) | 26 GHz (unpaired) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Assam | 10 | 5 | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Bihar | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Delhi | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Gujarat | 10 | – | 10 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Haryana | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 10 | – | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 10 | 5 | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| Karnataka | 10 | – | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| Kerala | 10 | – | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| Kolkata | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 10 | – | 10 | 130 | 1,000 |
| Maharashtra | 10 | – | 10 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Mumbai | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| North-East | 10 | 5 | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| Odisha | 10 | – | 10 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Punjab | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Rajasthan | 10 | – | 10 | 130 | 1,000 |
| Tamil Nadu | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Uttar Pradesh (East) | 10 | – | 10 | 100 | 1,000 |
| Uttar Pradesh (West) | 10 | 5 | – | 130 | 1,000 |
| West Bengal | 10 | – | – | 100 | 1,000 |
| Total | 220 | 20 | 60 | 2,440 | 22,000 |
Cost
Total cost of acquiring the right to use the above technology agnostic spectrum for a period of 20 years is Rs. 88,078 crore. As per terms of the spectrum auction, the spectrum payments have to be made over 20 equated annual instalments, with interest computed at 7.2% per annum. Annual payment amount is summarised below:
| Frequency Band | Total Annual Payment (amount in Rs. crore) |
| 700 MHz | 3,512 |
| 800 MHz | 94 |
| 1800 MHz | 628 |
| 3300 MHz | 3,017 |
| 26 GHz | 625 |
| Total | 7,877 |
The above amounts are provisional, subject to DOT confirmation.
Post-auction spectrum footprint:
- Jio has acquired a unique combination of low-band, mid-band and mmWave spectrum, which coupled with our deep fibre network and indigenous technology platforms, will enable us to provide 5G Everywhere and 5G For All (consumers and enterprises).
- With its unmatched 700 MHz spectrum footprint, Jio will be the only operator providing pan-India True 5G services with faster speeds, lower latency and massive connectivity.
- Through this acquisition, Jio’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly to 26,772 MHz (uplink + downlink), which is the highest in India:
- Sub-GHz: Jio has the highest amount of sub-GHz spectrum with at least 2X10 MHz contiguous spectrum in both 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands across each of the 22 circles.
- Mid-band: Jio is the only operator which has at least 2X10 MHz in 1800 MHz band (with 2X20 MHz in six key circles), 40 MHz in 2300 MHz band and 100 MHz in 3300 MHz band across all the 22 circles.
- mmWave: In addition, Jio also has right to use 1,000 MHz in the millimetre wave band (26 GHz) in each of the 22 circles which will be crucial to enable enterprise use cases as well as provide high-quality streaming services.
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