Trai has rejected the concerns over spectrum pricing for the next auctions.
The telecom regulator, Trai has rejected the concerns of telecom industry over spectrum pricing for the next auctions, saying that the authority had followed international benchmarks. It is also expecting a demand for both 5G and 700 MHz airwaves which can be used to offer the next generation services.
“Spectrum in 700 MHz band can also be used to launch 5G services. All bands are technology-neutral as of now. Service providers can use any band for any technology and it all depends on telcos which band they choose,” Trai secretary Sunil K Gupta told ET.
The officials are hoping that the private companies would be showing keen interest in buying 5G airwaves in the 3300-3600 MHz band which will be sold for the first time in India.
“5G will be having great potential and positive revenue model, and service providers will be inclined to go forward for 5G spectrum to launch services,” Gupta said.
Gupta thinks that 5G is expected to be launched by 2020-2021, and Machine-to-Machine (M2M), ultra-high speed broadband and newer applications, the 3300-3600 MHz spectrum band would be important for the provision of high-speed bandwidth services. He also rejected the criticism that the price of Rs 492 crore per MHz for 3300-3600 MHz band was high. The analysts are saying that the price is high as compared to South Korea which recently auctioned 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz bands for 5G services at a rate of Rs 65 crore per unit.
“Price depends on various factors. International pricing in countries where auction has happened and other things were taken into consideration,” Gupta said, adding that it has taken account of spectrum utilization in respect to population density and average revenue per user (ARPU). “Time of auction is neither called for nor recommended. Government is in a best position to look into it (time), and timing was not included in the reference made to Trai,” he added.
