Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Leading private sector telecom operators are gearing up to offer the fifth generation (5G) services to its potential customers in the state. Jio, Airtel and Idea-Vodafone have purchased 5G spectrum for the MP-CG circle.
In the spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecom, Reliance Jio has bought 5G spectrum for its MP-Chhattisgarh circle at Rs 4,420 cr. Whereas, Airtel has taken 5G spectrum worth Rs 1,532 cr and Vodafone Idea has purchased Rs 542 cr worth of spectrum in the auction. In MP-CG, all three private companies have altogether bought spectrum worth Rs 6,494 crore. Reliance Jio has made the highest investment in purchasing the 5G spectrum, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the total 5G investments made by all 3 operators in MP-CG circle.
Jio now has a total spectrum of 1210 MHz in MP-CG. In MP-CG, only Jio has 700 MHz spectrum and it will give new strength to the company.
According to experts of the telecom sector 700 MHz spectrum provides better indoor and outdoor coverage. A tower in the 700 MHz band can provide coverage up to 10 km. For this reason fewer towers have to be installed. It will also help to connect rural areas.
According to the annual report released by Reliance Industries for 2021-22, Jio is preparing to provide 5G service in about 1000 cities of the country. Jio has also done ground level testing of services related to 5G technologies.
GC Pandey, an expert of the telecom sector and former chief general manager of BSNL’s MP-CG circle, says that the 5G services will offer a high-speed internet service to its customers.
According to the recently released report of TRAI, there are 7.72 cr mobile subscribers in MP-CG. In this, Jio ranks first with 36.6 cr subscribers. Jio added 5.15 lakh customers in June. While Vodafone Idea has 1.95 cr., Airtel has 1.52 cr customers. There are 58.1 lakh customers of BSNL in the circle.
