The Rs 96,238-crore spectrum auction for 5G airwaves started today with telecom giants looking to make the most of it. This is in line with the government's commitment to facilitate affordable, state-of-the-art high quality telecom services to all the citizens, an official press release said.

The auction will see participation from three bidders Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, it said. They are likely to bid to acquire the crucial radio frequencies needed for 5G mobile services.

Earlier, the Ministry of Communications had announced that the following spectrum bands would go up for bidding in the upcoming auction—800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz.

The auction shall be a simultaneous multiple round ascending (SMRA) e-auction, the release said, adding that the spectrum will be assigned for a period of 20 years.

Successful bidders will be allowed to make payment in 20 equal annual installments. The spectrum acquired through this auction can be surrendered after a minimum period of ten years.

There will be no spectrum usage charges (SUC) for the spectrum acquired in this auction. It is not required by the successful bidder to submit a financial bank guarantee (FBG) and performance bank guarantee (PBG).

Mock auctions were conducted on the third, 13th, and 14th of this month to familiarize the bidders with the e-auction platform. Subsequently, the auction catalogue was published yesterday morning to ensure there is no inaccuracy in the data of bidders.