The Indian Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has agreed to undertake a spectrum auction, with successful bidders getting spectrum to offer 5G services to the general public and companies. The Indian government has given final approval to a plan that would allow firms to directly allot airwaves to them, allowing them to run private 5G networks.
5G services will be available soon, according to a government announcement on Wednesday, which also indicated that over 72 GHz of spectrum will be auctioned off for a 20-year term. ‘ A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a 20-year validity term will be auctioned off by the end of July 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in the following frequency bands: Low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz), and High (26 GHz)’, according to the statement.
Telecom service providers are expected to employ the mid and high-band spectrum to launch 5G technology-based services capable of offering speeds and capacities around ten times greater than what is now available with 4G services. Additionally, the government announced that the 5G spectrum auction will take place by the end of July. The auction is set to include Reliance Industries’ (RIL) Jio, Bharti Airtel Ltd, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), the country’s three largest carriers .
After ten years, bidders would be able to surrender the spectrum with no more responsibilities for balance payments. According to the government statement, ‘the changes include zero Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) on spectrum bought in the next auction, giving considerable relief to service providers in terms of telecom network operating costs’.
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