While giving its recommendations for 5G auctions last year, the Trai had proposed to reserve at least 40 MHz in the 3700-3800 MHz band, or mid-band, for private networks. In addition, the regulator had suggested reserving at least 40 MHz in 4800-4990 MHz and at least 400 MHz in 28.5-29.5 GHz, or the mmWave band, for private networks.
As per officials aware of the details, the biggest challenge that the regulator is facing is around which unit to use while selling such spectrum. Since satellite spectrum is different from access or mobile spectrum, selling it on a per MHz basis may not be a feasible option. In case, some quantum has to be given on a per MHz basis, specific supporting conditions need to be prescribed.
Spectrum in the mid-band (3,300-3,670 MHz) was recently auctioned for 5G services and the DoT is of the view that reserving it for private networks would result in a loss to the exchequer, according to a senior official. If any company wants to get the spectrum, it should pay a market-determined price for it, is the DoT contention, said this person.
The NFAP-2022, released by the government on Wednesday, is a central policy roadmap that defines future spectrum usage by all bodies in the country, including DoT, the Department of Space (DoS), defence, and I&B ministries, among others.
They added that the draft telecom bill also offers a robust regulatory framework within the federal structure to obtain right of way (RoW) approvals in a uniform, non-discriminatory manner, for establishing telecoms infrastructure and expediting the rollout of 5G networks.
"Hauling up the regulatory framework that is based on acts more than 100 years old to a newer version that relates to the latest technology, business and governance trends will, however, need a much more serious effort than the time allocated," SIA-India director general Anil Prakash said.
Analysts from brokerage houses such as BoFA Securities, Nomura, UBS, Goldman Sachs and Edelweiss have in recent reports stated that Airtel could be forced to buy the more expensive 700 MHz spectrum in the next auction to counter Jio, which has bought spectrum in this band. The 700 MHz band could help Jio offer better speeds indoors and hence poach high-end users from Airtel, said these reports
The fourth day of the sale saw seven more rounds of bidding. Day five will start from round 24, with some industry watchers expecting the sale to go onto Monday.
Such a scenario, they said, could drive operators to pass on these higher costs on consumers via another tariff hike later this year. But they cautioned that any imminent price hikes are likely to be around 10% at best as anything higher could increase churn and cut consumption of mobile broadband services that would hurt telco revenue in coming quarters.
“We have undertaken multiple initiatives over the past year to widen our 4G network spread in the circle as well as strengthen coverage across urban and rural locations. We have now doubled our VoLTE capacity in the two states, enabling more Vi customers to enjoy seamless, long conversations with their loved ones,” said Rohit Tandon, Cluster Business Head, Maharashtra & Goa- Vodafone Idea.
The 5G deployment will start from August-September, Vaishnaw said.
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