On 30 November, when the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, released its consultation paper on the looming 5G
spectrum auctions,
The Ken
For years, India’s cash-strapped telcos have been bullish on 5G deployment. But with high spectrum prices and home-grown tech falling short, rivals are finding common cause in delaying the expensive transition to the new generation of mobile networks
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Despite Trai setting the ball rolling though, the Indian government will likely miss its self-imposed deadline for spectrum auctions. Though the government was hoping to conduct the auctions by the first half of 2022—adding another feather to its cap before India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations in August—a number of hurdles remain to be overcome.
While the fiercely-debated pricing of spectrum will be finalised once DoT receives Trai’s recommendations, many of the spectrum bands under consideration for the 5G auction are occupied. In the mid-band— the premium band for 5G services—the 3.3-3.4GHz and 3.6-3.625GHz blocks are currently used for mission critical defence and disaster communications. In the millimetre band, the 27.5-28.5GHz block is occupied by satellite operators. Broadcasters will likely be the other group affected, as spectrum bands they currently use could be affected by 5G signals.
Some of these tenancy troubles are a result of India increasing the range of spectrum for 5G beyond the initial limits prescribed by the
International Telecommunication Union
International Telecommunication Union
The UN body that deals with information and communication technologies
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Written by Pratap Vikram Singh
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