Breaking down the latest spectrum auction and what it means for the telecom industry | The Hindu In Focus Podcast

In this episode we discuss the spectrum auction that took place last week and try to decipher the trends that it gives us for the telecom industry going forward and where things stand between the major players at this point. By most accounts, and according to most commentators, the auction itself was a rather tepid affair. Only 37 percent of the total available spectrum was sold and that too was bought at reserve price without any competitive bidding among the major players like Reliance Jio and Airtel. It’s a sign perhaps, that unlike the intense competition that existed even a few years ago among multiple operators, we’re now looking at an industry, still expanding and still with a lot of headroom to grow, but clearly also under stress in some ways and proceeding with caution. We’re going to explain a lot in this episode and try and give you the most comprehensive guide to understanding these auctions, breaking down the various bands of spectrum that are available and that are being sold, what they mean for existing technologies like 3g and 4g and future technologies like 5G, and why companies like airtel and reliance Jio are making the moves, and spectrum purchases that they are. We're joined today by the Hindu Business Line's Mumbai bureau chief Thomas K Thomas who has covered and tracked the telecom industry for several years.

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