India 5G spectrum auction to start in July; to allow Private Captive Networks
Over 72 GHz to be auctioned with 20 years validity
Telecom circle/Metro service area
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated that following the success of 4G network in India, it will auction over 72 GHz of spectrum starting 26 July 2022, of which the mid and high band spectrum (3,300 MHz – 26 GHz) will likely be used by the telecom service providers to roll out 5G services in India. The DoT issued Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) on 15 June 2022.
It is claimed that 5G will be about 10 times faster than 4G, and could revolutionise technologies such as in Speech services, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, telemedicine, tele-education, defence, entertainment, transport, e-commerce, work-from-home, etc.
There have been concerns about the impact of 5G on health, but countries like Japan and South Korea have allayed those and taken a lead over the past few years. With the auction and roll-out of 5G, India will join a handful of countries in the world that are using 5G. However, given several telecom/electronic providers had already started offering 5G-enabled products in India, the roll-out is expected to rapidly increase scale and usage vs other countries.
Importantly, the DoT said it will “enable the development and setting up of Private Captive Networks”, while taking measures to reduce the cost for Telecom Service Providers. Private Captive Networks will not only enhance productivity and reliability of companies, especially in the IT, it could also spur innovation in robotics, AI, etc. This comes in the backdrop of telecom operators raising a concern last week about allowing Private Captive Networks, which would dent their profits in 5G and make it unviable.
The DoT said, “For the first time ever, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders. Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual instalments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year. This is expected to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector.”
“Further, the bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance instalments.”
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