India's government has finally kicked off the country's latest 5G spectrum auction, with a total of 10 GHz up for grabs.

The country's three biggest telcos, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) are all expected to bid for the assets, which have a combined reserve price of 962.4bn rupees ($11.53bn)

5G airwaves across eight bands will be auctioned, including 5G airwaves in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz, and 26 GHz bands.

The auction has been delayed on four occasions, after it had initially been set to take place in March.

It was then set to take place last month before it was delayed until June 6 due to the country's general election.

However, just days before the proposed auction earlier this month, it was once again delayed by India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Airtel and Jio both launched 5G in October 2022, while Vodafone Idea is still yet to launch the service.

The carrier's CEO Akshaya Moondra said in January that its 5G launch is about "six to seven months away." If accurate, the company should be launching the service next month or in August.

During the country's first 5G spectrum auction, Jio spent $11 billion while Airtel spent $5.4bn. Vi received rights to spectrum worth $2.4 billion, while Adani purchased spectrum rights worth approximately $27 million.