India’s 5G Spectrum Auction Taking Place Soon
According to a recent report, the Union Cabinet recently approved a proposal from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to conduct the 5G spectrum auctions. The DoT sent out a notice of inviting applications (NIA), providing details about the auction procedures.
The cabinet of ministers has decided that the 5G spectrum will be auctioned for a period of 20 years. The last date for submission of applications is on July 8. Following this, the DoT is expected to publish the ownership details of the applicants on July 12. The list of the final bidders of the auction will go live on July 20 and the mock auction sessions will take place on July 22 and 23. The final auction is scheduled for July 26, as aforementioned.
Now, coming to the details of the auction, a total of 72097.85 MHz of 5G spectrum will be put to auction. It will be conducted for the 5G spectrum in multiple low, mid, and high-frequency bands. The low-frequency bands range from 600 MHz to 2300 MHz, while the mid-frequency band will be 3300 MHz. The auction for high-frequency bands will include a frequency band of 26 GHz.
“Spectrum is an integral and necessary part of the entire 5G eco-system. The upcoming 5G services have the potential to create new-age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises, and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies,” the government said in a statement.
It is also said that the mid and high-frequency 5G bands could enable telecom companies to provide network connections with speeds and capacities that would be 10 times better than what is possible with current 4G technologies.
Furthermore, the authorities clarified that successful bidders do not need to pay upfront. The total payment can be divided into 20 annual installments. Each of the installments needs to be paid by the telecom companies at the start of each year, for the next 20 years. The bidders will also be provided the option to surrender the allotted spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities in terms of future installment payments.
Additionally, aspiring bidders could get clarifications on certain points of the NIA until June 22. The clarifications along with their resolutions will be made public on June 30. Now that we have a date for the 5G spectrum auctions, we expect the commercial rollout to begin by this year, as expected. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.
