Telecom stocks rally as DoT announces planned 5G rollout in 13 cities

Voda Idea was the major gainer among the leading telecom stocks, up over 2 per cent; MTNL and TTML were locked at their respective upper limits

Telecom stocks were in high demand on Tuesday, with the likes of MTNL and TTML locked at their respective 10 per cent and 5 per cent upper circuit limits. The BSE Telecom index was one of the prominent gainer, up 1.3 per cent in late morning trade as against 0.7 per rise in the BSE Sensex.

On Monday, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced that commercial 5G services will be rolled out in 13 Indian cities in India, including the metropolises, in the new year 2022.

According to the DoT release, 5G services could initially be launched in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Jamnagar.

Telecom service providers have asked the government keep 5G spectrum prices affordable to enable maximum industry participation.

Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also released a consultation paper to seek industry feedback on various issues related to spectrum auction, such as pricing, valuation, and rollout obligation. READ MORE

Among the major telecom players, Vodafone Idea has surged 2.4 per cent to Rs 13.78. Bharti Airtel was up nearly a per cent at Rs 681, and Reliance Industries, the promoter company of Reliance Jio, was up 0.5 per cent at Rs 2,381.

MTNL, which was locked at the 10 per cent upper limit at Rs 38.95, has more-than-doubled so far this month, after government announced its plans to monetize the land assets of the company. READ MORE

GTL Infra and ITI have also rallied nearly 5 per cent each. Tejas Network, HFCL, Sterlite Technologies, Onmobile Global, Tata Communications and Route Mobile are the other notable gainers.