May 10: The 5G spectrum is anticipated to be revolutionary and it has started paving its way in many countries including India. In India, the 5G auction will start soon but there is an obstacle in its way which can create a hurdle in the acceptance of 5G and that issue is the high pricing of the 5G spectrum. Recently, the telecom industry has paid attention to the fact that the 5G spectrum, when introduced in India, will be the most expensive in the world when considered on a per Mhz basis. CLSA, the research firm has also confirmed that the spectrum cost of India as a proportion of annual recurring telecom is high in comparison to other markets present in countries like the UK, China, Germany, Brazil and Pakistan.
However, contradicting this fact TRAI has commented that India will have the lowest 5G spectrum pricing on a per capita basis. However, the Telcos have still shown their disappointment over the high pricing of the 5G spectrum. The high pricing of the 5G spectrum is expected to have an impact on the bidding in the upcoming auction. Keeping in view the high pricing of 5G, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises has requested the government not to charge high fees for the 5AG spectrum allocation.
How 5G Will Help India?
The 5G is considered revolutionary because of many reasons. The applications of 5G are huge and it will help almost all the sectors from healthcare to business. If the price of the 5G spectrum is maintained, the service provider will be able to allocate the money in the faster rollout of the service instead of a simple acquisition of the 5G spectrum. The spread of 5G will be especially helpful in ensuring higher connectivity in the region that experiences internet issues because of the low latency rate. You can check your current internet speed on Jio and Speed Test.
5G Auction Plan
The auction plan of TRAIT is valued at INR 7.5 trillion as of the base price. Keeping in mind the high price, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is recommending a 39% reduction in the floor price of the 5G offering. Also, different frameworks have been suggested after a careful analysis which was carried out with the help of stakeholders and consultation.
After the auction, 5G is expected to have its groundwork ready in 2022 and the rollout procedure of the 5G spectrum is expected to start between 2022-23 with the help of private telecom providers. The 5G spectrum will provide the users with extremely high speeds which will be helping many businesses. Even though a 36% cut in the base price is expected in the 5G auction, the base price of the 5G spectrum will still be higher in comparison to other countries like Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea. The price point of the 5G spectrum should be further revised to ensure that the 5G services become affordable across the country.
Keeping the pricing point of the 5G spectrum in mind, all the three leading mobile operators of India which include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea has asked for a steep cut of 90-95% in the base price of the auction of 5G spectrum in the mid-band 3300-3670. Currently, the industry players are pushing for a heavy cut. Currently, different telecom service providers are busy conducting 5G trials in the following cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Varanasi and Pune while covering the rural, urban and semi-urban areas.
It will be interesting to see how the 5G spectrum auction unfolds. The 5G auction is extremely important now because the government is planning to roll out the 5G services by August 15. Till now, the operators have purchased an 855.60 MHz spectrum at a valuation of INR 77,814. The 5G spectrum is expected to be held in May 2022. In the 5G spectrum, there will be a head-on fight between the telecom and satellite players. The rollout of the 5G spectrum is very important in India to give the country the much needed digital push for better innovation. 5G will prove to be extremely helpful in creating sustainable and self-sufficient smart cities too, which is something that India has been working on for a long time. The positive result of the implementation of 5G will be visible soon in the upcoming years.(KNS)