Telecom Department has approached TRAI seeking its recommendations on pricing, quantum and other modalities pertaining to radiowaves in multiple bands as it prepares the groundwork for holding 5G spectrum auction in the coming months.
The last round of spectrum auction, held in March this year, had raked-in winning bids of over Rs 77,800 crore for 855.6 MHz of spectrum.When contacted, TRAI Secretary V Raghunandan confirmed that TRAI has indeed received a reference from Department of Telecom (DoT) on 5G spectrum but declined to divulge exact contents of the communic The regulator is currently examining the reference made by DoT, he said. The reference is with regard to multiple bands and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will seek additional information, if needed. “We will try our best to meet the expectations,” Raghunandan said when asked about the possible timelines for concluding the entire consultation process, including holding open house discussions (a standard practice followed by the regulator), and finalising its views.According to sources, DoT’s reference seeks views of TAI on base price, quantum and all other modalities for spectrum across multiple bands. These include bands such as 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz bands as also 3,300-3,600 MHz bands (that were not put up for auctions in the last round), and millimetre-wave band (that is 24.25-28.5 GHz). Recommendations have been sought on reserve price, block size, band plan, and quantum of spectrum to be auctioned, the sources said adding that the reference was received early last week. It is pertinent to mention that Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said the 5G spectrum auctions will “most probably” be held in February 2022, and the Govt may even try for a January timeline.