In a relief to the telecom sector, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday cut the base price for airwaves in all spectrum bands, including 5G airwaves, by up to 40%.
The telecom regulator has also suggested that all available spectrum in the existing band – 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz – should be put up for auction along with the airwaves in the new band. . As 600 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz.
The DoT, in a letter to TRAI in November last year, had emphasized the need to strike a balance between generating revenue and the stability of the telecom sector so that the telecom service providers are in good health with sufficient capacity to make them regular and regular. Substantial capital outlay for transition to 5G technology. It had also highlighted that in the last auction only 37.1% of the spectrum put up for auction was acquired by telcos and that the spectrum lying idle was useless to the economy.
“The inputs received by the Authority during the consultation process also point to the need for further rationalization of the reserve price,” the regulator said in the over 400-page recommendation.
The regulator has recommended reduction in the reserve price in all spectrum bands by up to 40% for a period of 20 years as compared to the base price suggested in its previous recommendations. For 5G airwaves in the 3300-3670 MHz band, the all-India reserve price comes to ₹317 crore/MHz, which is 35.5% lower than the earlier recommended ₹492 crore/MHz. Similarly, the reserve price for the premium 700 MHz band, which did not find a buyer in the previous auction, was reduced by almost 40% to ₹3,927 crore/MHz from ₹6,568 crore/MHz.
In the last auction held in March 2021, a total of 2,308.80 MHz spectrum worth ₹4,00,396.20 crore was auctioned at the reserve price, of which 855.60 MHz was sold, resulting in a total bid win of ₹77,820.81 crore. No bids were received in 700 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.
The regulator has also suggested that the reserve price of spectrum allocation in case of 30 years should be equal to 1.5 times the reserve price of spectrum allocation for 20 years for the respective band. “For long-term growth and stability of the telecom sector, to incentivize liquidity and encourage investment, telecom service providers should be allowed easy payment options including partial payments with the flexibility of moratorium,” it added.
Further, it said that for ease of doing business, easy and transparent spectrum surrender guidelines have been recommended, with a spectrum surrender fee of ₹ 1 lakh per spectrum band per LSA.
It has also suggested that a 5G-dedicated Inter-Ministerial Working Group (IMWG) should be constituted under the chairmanship of Member (Technology), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, to pursue 5G use cases in various verticals. , the department should be involved. Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Department of Space, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and NITI Aayog as members, who must be members JS level officials.
The government aims to auction spectrum in 2022 so that 5G services can be started by private companies before March 2023.