5G auction: Jio submits highest deposit of ₹14,000 crore

Companies have made a total Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of ₹21,800 crore prior to the 5G auction scheduled to begin on July 26.

Jio, the country’s biggest mobile operator, submitted the highest EMD, amounting ₹14,000 crore. Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest operator after Jio, made an EMD of ₹5,500 crore, while Vodafone Idea deposited ₹2,200 crore.

EMD is a token amount paid to the seller before making the final payment. It can help understand a company’s strategy and game plan for buying spectrum in the auctions. According to estimates, companies can spend seven-eight times more than the EMD they submit.

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The Adani Group, represented by Adani Data Networks (ADN), made a deposit of ₹100 crore, which indicates that the company may go for limited bandwidth capacity.

The total EMD collection this year is higher than the previous year. A total of ₹ 13,475 was submitted as EMD in 2021, by three applicants. The Adani Group was not a part of the auction. Jio had spent ₹57,123 crore on buying the spectrum, Airtel ₹ 18,699 crore and Vodafone Idea ₹1,993 crore.

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