Even though 5G is not here in India, smartphone companies have launched devices on the same platform. Now, the Indian Government is expected to hold the spectrum auction in June this year. This development comes soon after the Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw cleared that the Department of Telecom is already working on the timeline.
He said that now DoT is focussing on resolving spectrum pricing concerns. The minister also states that the auction is expected to take place in June this year. “We are very much as per our timeline to conduct the auction,” he was quoted by PTI.
It is important to note that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made an auction plan of 5G services that is close to Rs. 7.5 lakh crore, including the base price of radio waves, which will be allocated for 30 years.
The report claims that if DoT plans to auction the 5G spectrum for 20 years, then the decided value will decrease to Rs. 5.07 lakh crore. In addition, the report said that the telecom regulator has already decreased the prices of the spectrum by about 39 percent compared to the last price decided by the organization.
Notably, Reliance Jio, Vodafone-Idea, and Airtel have complained about the 5G spectrum pricing as it is higher than global standards. “We will think over this issue (industry concern on spectrum pricing) in a systematic manner. World over it has been accepted that spectrum is a public good and is a necessity for development. Based on this principle we will discuss this issue,” Vaishnaw said.
He added that the Digital Commission will take the final call on the TRAI’s recommendation. For the unaware, earlier, the spectrum auction is expected to take place in May this year as the regulator submitted its recommendation in March. But, there is some delay as telecom operators are not happy with the new prices. On the other hand, the telecom Minister refuted any delay in the auctions.
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