New Delhi: Apex telecom industry body COAI has insisted that spectrum pricing should be kept in line with market conditions as 5G has a long term upfront capital investment with monetization, and high pricing radio waves only. Will push the players against the wall.
stage is ready Telecom Regulatory Authority India (TRAI) will come out with its recommendations on 5G spectrum pricing and other modalities for upcoming auctions, and the sector watchdog is expected to be announced sometime now.
Norms will also be prepared for new frequencies like 526-698 MHz millimeter bandi.e. other than bands like 24.25 – 28.5 GHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz.
A DoT source said the auction could be conducted within 2-2.5 months of the regulator coming up with spectrum recommendations, which would put the mega-event in the ballpark of the June deadline.
The industry is aggressively pitching for a steep 80-90 percent reduction in spectrum prices for next-generation services, which will usher in ultra high-speed and new-age services and business models.
Advocating lower prices for spectrum, SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, told PTI: “There are no use cases in 5G which can be monetized in a quarter, so it is going to be a long haul. Also, the capital investment is to be made over a particular period.”
It is pertinent to mention here that last time, TRAI suggested Rs 492 crore per MHz for spectrum in the prime 5G band of 3300-3600 MHz, which meant that a mobile operator going for 100 MHz would get Rs 49,200 crore. There was a need to spend Rs. For all India spectrum.
However, frequencies in this band were not put up for auction in previous rounds, as the frequency range could not be cleared in time and the base price of radio waves in the spectrum band was seen to be too expensive for 5G services.
In March 2021, the government went ahead with the auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz bands. A total of 2,308.80 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 4 lakh crore was placed on the block at reserve price in various bands, of which 855.60 MHz amount Sold in the auction, resulting in a total winning bid of Rs 77,820.81 crore. No bids were received in 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.
Kochhar said the higher prices this time around will put telcos in a difficult position, to say the least.
“If telcos have to pay a high price for spectrum, they will have their backs to the wall,” Kochhar said.
The members of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) include Reliance JioBharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
According to Kochhar, the benefits that will accrue to the entire industry with the advent of 5G will far outweigh the gains from spectrum auctions.
And while 5G will see consumer and enterprise applications, the uptick will be a whole lot faster on the consumer side.
“Government should not leave forest for trees and hence they should look at it (auction, pricing) completely, in the long term. They should go for spectrum pricing which suits the market conditions… According to us In discussions with our members, this should be reduced to 80-90 per cent across all bands,” Kochhar said.
Telecom regulator, TRAI, in late November last year, had issued a detailed consultation paper to discuss the modalities of auctioning spectrum across multiple bands, including pricing, quantity and other terms – the basis for the upcoming 5G auction. prepare.
To facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile services by private telecom providers within 2022-23, the spectrum auction is to be conducted in 2022.
TRAI’s recommendations will touch on important aspects like valuation and reserve price of spectrum including 5G, quantum of spectrum, block size, eligibility conditions for participation in auction, rollout obligations, spectrum cap and surrender of spectrum.
Telecom service providers are conducting 5G trials in urban, semi-urban and rural areas including Delhi, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Gurugram, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Pune and Varanasi.
stage is ready Telecom Regulatory Authority India (TRAI) will come out with its recommendations on 5G spectrum pricing and other modalities for upcoming auctions, and the sector watchdog is expected to be announced sometime now.
Norms will also be prepared for new frequencies like 526-698 MHz millimeter bandi.e. other than bands like 24.25 – 28.5 GHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz.
A DoT source said the auction could be conducted within 2-2.5 months of the regulator coming up with spectrum recommendations, which would put the mega-event in the ballpark of the June deadline.
The industry is aggressively pitching for a steep 80-90 percent reduction in spectrum prices for next-generation services, which will usher in ultra high-speed and new-age services and business models.
Advocating lower prices for spectrum, SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, told PTI: “There are no use cases in 5G which can be monetized in a quarter, so it is going to be a long haul. Also, the capital investment is to be made over a particular period.”
It is pertinent to mention here that last time, TRAI suggested Rs 492 crore per MHz for spectrum in the prime 5G band of 3300-3600 MHz, which meant that a mobile operator going for 100 MHz would get Rs 49,200 crore. There was a need to spend Rs. For all India spectrum.
However, frequencies in this band were not put up for auction in previous rounds, as the frequency range could not be cleared in time and the base price of radio waves in the spectrum band was seen to be too expensive for 5G services.
In March 2021, the government went ahead with the auction of spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz bands. A total of 2,308.80 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 4 lakh crore was placed on the block at reserve price in various bands, of which 855.60 MHz amount Sold in the auction, resulting in a total winning bid of Rs 77,820.81 crore. No bids were received in 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.
Kochhar said the higher prices this time around will put telcos in a difficult position, to say the least.
“If telcos have to pay a high price for spectrum, they will have their backs to the wall,” Kochhar said.
The members of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) include Reliance JioBharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
According to Kochhar, the benefits that will accrue to the entire industry with the advent of 5G will far outweigh the gains from spectrum auctions.
And while 5G will see consumer and enterprise applications, the uptick will be a whole lot faster on the consumer side.
“Government should not leave forest for trees and hence they should look at it (auction, pricing) completely, in the long term. They should go for spectrum pricing which suits the market conditions… According to us In discussions with our members, this should be reduced to 80-90 per cent across all bands,” Kochhar said.
Telecom regulator, TRAI, in late November last year, had issued a detailed consultation paper to discuss the modalities of auctioning spectrum across multiple bands, including pricing, quantity and other terms – the basis for the upcoming 5G auction. prepare.
To facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile services by private telecom providers within 2022-23, the spectrum auction is to be conducted in 2022.
TRAI’s recommendations will touch on important aspects like valuation and reserve price of spectrum including 5G, quantum of spectrum, block size, eligibility conditions for participation in auction, rollout obligations, spectrum cap and surrender of spectrum.
Telecom service providers are conducting 5G trials in urban, semi-urban and rural areas including Delhi, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Gurugram, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Pune and Varanasi.