5G To Be Introduced Among Union Cabinet For Approval

Digital Communications Commission has finalized the base price suggested by TRAI

Ahead of the technology advancement in India, the Department of Telecom is likely to move the 5G spectrum auction proposal to the Union Cabinet for final approval next week, an official source said on Tuesday.

The Digital Communications Commission has finalized the base price suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the source, who did not wish to be named, said.

According to the officials, "The DCC has firmed up its view. It's not a decision making body. It will give recommendations to the Cabinet for final approval of the action plan. There is no change in the base price that (TRAI) has recommended."

Moreover, Telecom operators have opposed the base price recommended by the regulator (TRAI). The DCC has decided not to auction spectrum frequency range between 27.5-28.5 gigahertz and leave it for satellite services.

While taking notes, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended a base price for this frequency range and suggested that it can be used for both mobiles as well as satellite services.

Last week, the regulator replied to the DoT and left it to the government to decide if they want to auction 27.5-28.5 GHz.

The DCC has also approved TRAI’s recommendation to allow the setting up of private wireless or the 5G network for captive use. TRAI has mooted a mega auction plan valued at over Rs 7.5 lakh crore at the base price across multiple bands for radio waves allocated over 30 years.

In short, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended about a 39 per cent reduction in the reserve or floor price for the sale of spectrum for mobile services, including the latest 5G offering, as it looked to match revenue expectations with the industry's paying capacity.

The watchdog has recommended a mega auction plan of over Rs 7.5 lakh crore for over 1 lakh megahertz spectrum in case government allocates it for 30 years.

In the case of 20 years, the total value of the proposed spectrum auction will stand at around Rs 5.07 lakh crore at the reserve price, according to the back-of-the-envelope calculation.

With large swathes of spectrum remaining unsold in the last two auctions, TRAI recommended to the government for selling airwaves in all existing bands of 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and new slots of 600 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz.