It’s time for another episode of Tech News Today and for July 26 most of the headlines revolves around the much-anticipated 5G Spectrum Auctions. We also look at the reports about Honor exiting the Indian market. So, let’s get started.

5G Spectrum Auctions Begin in India

India is gearing for the launch of 5G mobile network (5G) and the 5G spectrum auctions have started today. Top carriers Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and new entrant Adani Data Networks will all bid for 72Ghz airwaves to be able to launch 5G services in India.

The four participants – Jio, Airtel, Vi, and Adani Networks have all deposited a combined Rs 21,800 crore in Earnest Money Deposit. Reliance Jio has submitted an EMD of Rs 14,000 crore. During the 5G spectrum auction, the government will put up over 72,000Mhz (72GHz) airwaves for auction, with the reserve price being a whopping Rs 4.3 lakh crore.

5G Spectrum Auction Live: Round 1 of Bidding Over; Telcos Are Not Aggressive

Once the 5G auctions are completed, the spectrum allocation and service rollout is likely to take another few months. But 5G in India is unlikely to reach consumers first, as the telcos will focus on the business segment with their 5G solutions. According to the claims made by the Indian government, 5G speeds are likely to be 10x more than 4G speeds.

DoT has shared a list of 13 cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. All the three leading telecom operators like Jio, Airtel and Vi (Vodafone Idea) have already set up trial sites in these cities.

We still don’t know how much 5G data will cost but experts suggest in the short term the prices will be on the higher side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/dW34SuMGmDc

Honor Reportedly Exiting The Indian Market

Honor, formerly under Huawei, has pulled out its team from India, the company said on Monday that the company is ‘maintaining business operation’ in the country.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the company’s business in India will remain in operation, managed by local partners, but the brand will adopt a “very safe approach.”

“Honor officially announces its exit from the Indian market” is not correct, the spokesperson added.

Honor once held a 3 per cent market share in India during its peak in 2018 but fell out after the US put sanctions against Huawei.

Struggling to keep its consumer business afloat in the wake of the US sanctions, Chinese conglomerate Huawei in November sold off its Honor smartphone business assets to China-based Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co Ltd.

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