Kolkata | Mumbai: Reliance Jio<\/a> is said to have deposited earnest money of over Rs 9,000 crore, which would give it the option to buy 4G spectrum worth Rs 45,000-66,000 crore in the upcoming March auction, underlining the telco’s need to renew expiring airwaves and add spectrum to cater to rising data consumption.
Bharti Airtel<\/a>, the second-largest operator, deposited Rs 3,000-3,500 crore, which would allow it to buy 4G airwaves worth Rs 15,000-25,000 crore, industry<\/a> executives aware of the matter said.
Vodafone Idea (Vi), financially the weakest of the three private telcos, is said to have put in less than Rs 500 crore, which would enable it to buy spectrum worth Rs 2,500-3,500 crore, only in some bands and some circles.
Jio<\/a> and Airtel<\/a>, by virtue of their higher earnest money deposits (EMD), would potentially be in a position to bid for spectrum in all 4G bands to be auctioned and in any circle, experts said.
“Jio<\/a>, Airtel<\/a> or Vi would, typically, have the option to bid for spectrum worth roughly five to seven times their respective EMDs,” a senior executive of one telco told ET.
At press time, Jio and Vi did not reply to ET’s queries. Airtel declined to comment.