India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm on Friday reported a nearly 24 percent year-on-year rise in its standalone net profit to Rs. 4,335 crore for the June 2022 quarter. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio clocked revenue from operations of Rs. 21,873 crore in the just-ended quarter, which was 21.5 percent higher than the year-ago period, according to a filing.
Jio’s Q1 scorecard comes at a time when the telecom market is poised for the advent of 5G services, which will usher in ultra-high speeds (about 10 times faster than 4G) and bring new-age services and business models.
The countdown to 5G spectrum auctions has begun, and a total of 72 GHz of radiowaves worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the upcoming auction, scheduled to begin on July 26.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Reliance Jio Infocomm had submitted an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs. 14,000 crore ahead of its participation in the upcoming 5G auction, while Bharti Airtel has put in Rs. 5,500 crore. Vodafone Idea has put in an EMD of Rs. 2,200 crore.
According to the list of pre-qualified bidders posted on the telecom department’s website, the EMD amount of Adani Data Networks stands at Rs. 100 crore. With its EMD at Rs. 14,000 crore, the eligibility points assigned to Jio for the auction stand at 1,59,830, the highest in the list of four bidders.
Typically, EMD amounts give a broad indication of players’ appetite, strategy and plan for picking up spectrum in an auction. It also determines the eligibility points, through which telcos target specific amount of spectrum in a given circle.
The eligibility points allocated to Airtel are 66,330, while that of Vodafone Idea are 29,370. Adani Data Networks received eligibility points of 1,650, based on its deposit. The 5G spectrum auction is scheduled to start on July 26.
