The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on April 11 released recommendations on the ‘Auction of spectrum in frequency bands identified for IMT / 5G’.
TRAI had decided to set the reserve prices for spectrum bands of 22 telecom circles in the country. To attract competitive bidding by Telecom players like Airtel Jio, And Vodafone Idea TRAI has recommended slashing the base price of 5G airwaves, suggesting a 40 percent reduction in the price of 700 MHz bands and 36 percent cut in the spectrum frequency of 3300-3670 MHz bands.
The seven spectrum bands whose reserve prices were set include, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz. The above spectrum bands along with new spectrum bands 600 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz, and 24.25-28.5 GHz, will be put to auction. TRAI suggested a 40 percent reduction in the reserve price for the 700 MHz band and decreased the price for the 3300-3670 MHz band by 36 percent.
The reserve price of spectrum allocation in the case of 30 years should be equal to 1.5 times the reserve price of spectrum allocation for 20 years for the respective band.
“For the long-term growth and sustainability of the telecom sector, infusing liquidity and encouraging investment, the Telecom Service Providers should be allowed easy payment options including part payment with the flexibility of moratorium,” TRAI said in a statement.
The regulatory body has recommended a 35.6 percent slash in the base price for the 3300-3600 MHz band to Rs 317 crore on all- India basis compared with Rs 492 crore recommended in 2018.
For the 700 MHz, the base price stands at Rs 3,927 crore per MHz, which is around 40 percent lower than the prices recommended by TRAI in 2018.
TRAI has also suggested a cap of 40 percent on the combined spectrum holding in the sub-1 GHz bands i.e. 600 Mhz, 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, and 900 Mhz bands.
