Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, reiterated on Thursday that 5G airwaves and spectrum auctions will begin in the second quarter of next year. He stated that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had already issued a consultation process, and that once the regulator finalised the necessary parameters, the spectrum auction and network rollout would begin.
5G development is accelerating. Trials and tests will begin in the coming months. TRAI has already issued a consultation process for 5G deployments. "Once the consultation process is completed and the auction parameters are ready, the auction and rollout will begin soon in the second quarter of the coming year," Vaishnaw said in a TV interview. On Wednesday, the TRAI began the consultation process for establishing base prices across ten frequency bands for commercial launch 5G services.
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TRAI has asked stakeholders for their input on the sale of upcoming airwaves, including the reserve price, band plan, block size, quantum of the spectrum, and other conditions, by December 28. Vaishnaw stated that the introduction of 5G services will improve network speed, data quality, as well as download and upload speeds in the country. He stated that the launch of 5G in India will reduce the country reliance on foreign sources.
India has developed a standard known as 5Gi, which is being evaluated by the telecom department's technical arm, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC). The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has voiced its opposition to 5Gi, citing the incompatibility of self standardized 5G services on a global scale. The country has been noted to lack the necessary environment and device ecosystem.
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Earlier in November, Vaishnaw stated that the auction for 5G spectrum will most likely take place in April-May of next year, noting that consultations are complex and have diverse opinions. He also stated that the government is committed to ensuring that auctions are technology neutral and that spectrum is consistent for many years to come. Telecom providers have asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for an extension until May 2022 for spectrum auctions, citing a lack of readiness.