Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that 5G spectrum may be auctioned in early June.
New Delhi:
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said on Thursday that the government may auction 5G spectrum in early June.
The minister said that the DoT is working as per the expected time frame and the process is on to address the concerns of the industry around spectrum pricing.
When asked about the schedule of spectrum auction, Mr Vaisha said it is expected to be held in early June.
Setting the stage for the rollout of 5G services, telecom regulator TRAI has drawn up a mega auction plan for radio waves allocated over 30 years at a base price of over Rs 7.5 lakh crore in multiple bands.
“We are very much on our timeline to hold the auction,” Vaishnav said.
The Minister said that the Digital Communications Commission will consider the recommendations of TRAI and will approach them for clarifications.
The watchdog has recommended a mega auction scheme of over Rs 7.5 lakh crore for spectrum above 1 lakh MHz, if allotted by the government for a period of 30 years.
As per the back-of-the-envelope calculations, in a matter of 20 years, the total value of the proposed spectrum auction will be around Rs 5.07 lakh crore at the reserve price.
While TRAI has reduced the spectrum price by about 39 per cent as compared to the previous price, telecom operators have said that the recommended rates are higher than the global benchmark.