TRAI’s nod for sale of 5G spectrum

TRAI’s nod for sale of 5G spectrum

News:

1. TRAI’s green signal for sale of  5G spectrum

Important facts:

2. Recently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended the auction of spectrum for offering 5G services for the first time in the country.

3. The service will be providing at a pan-India reserve price of about Rs 492 crore per MHz.

4. TRAI’s recommendation :

• The regulator has also called for over 43% reduction in the reserve prices of 700 MHz band spectrum.
• It had no takers in the 2016 auctions due to high pricing.
• The entire available spectrum is put to auction in the forthcoming sale.
• The regulator suggested that “it may not be prudent to either delay the auction or hold back the spectrum”.
• The regulators pointed out that there is need of audit of all allocated spectrum both commercial as well as spectrum allocated to various PSUs and government organizations.
• This should be done by an independent agency on a regular basis.

5. Based on the above recommendations, the base prices and timing for the next round of auctions will be finanlised .

6. The last auction for spectrum was held in 2016, wherein around 60% spectrum remained unsold.

7. Since then, the industry has witnessed strong consolidation, with only three main players- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, and Reliance Jio.

8. Spectrum trading in this band should be allowed after a lock-in period of 5 years as opposed to 2 years to avoid misuse.

9. According to TRAI, there is “definite amount” of visibility and it is not entirely correct to say that industry is not in a position to assess its spectrum requirements.

10. Recently, concerns have also been raised about the financial health of the sector and its revenue growth as a result intense completion.