TRAI Recommends 36% Cut In Pan India Spectrum Pricing

Releasing its much-awaited recommendations, the telecom regulator said that all available spectrum in the existing bands of 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and the new spectrum bands of 600 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz, will be put to auction.

Issuing a statement, Trai said, “To provide flexibility to the telecom service providers, block size of 10 MHz for 3300-3670 MHz band and 50 MHz for 24.25-28.5 GHz band recommended. Spectrum to be assigned in a contiguous manner.”

In all, the reserve price across various bands works out to be nearly 39 per cent lower than that suggested last time.

For the prime 5G frequency of 3300-3670 MHz band, all-India reserve price adds up to ₹317 crore per MHz, which is over 35 per cent lower than the ₹492 crore/MHz suggested by Trai last time.

The base price for coveted 700 Mhz band works out to be ₹3,927 crore per Mhz, which is 40 per cent lower than that proposed last time.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said that 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 flexibility of moratorium.

TRAI recommendations can be accessed here… https://www.trai.gov.in/notifications/press-release/trai-releases-recommendations-auction-spectrum-frequency-bands

Getting 5G Ready…

TRAI picks Delhi airport, Bengaluru metro and Kandla port for 5G pilots

The telecom regulator (TRAI) has identified Delhi airport, ‘smart’ city Bhopal, the Bengaluru metro, and Deendayal port (Kandla) in Gujarat for conducting pilot projects using street furniture and aerial cable for the deployment of small cells, Business Standard reported.

These pilot projects are crucial to understand the regulatory and policy interventions which will be required, especially with the launch of 5G services, when more small cells will become the backbone to support a larger traffic volume per unit area.

While macro towers will be deployed as they were for 4G, huge proliferation of small cells, which have a coverage area as low as 10 metres to a few kilometres, is expected to ensure high data speeds and low latency, especially with the use of high band spectrum. The Cellular Operators Association of India has been pushing to include small cells in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai’s) framework for right of way.

For Full report of Business Standard, click here