India expects to conclude its 5G spectrum auction by August and for services to be rolled out subsequently, CNBC reported, citing the country’s Telecommunications and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The ministry said that the country’s telecoms regulator TRAI is in the final stages of its consultation with the telecommunication industry on the rollout of 5G in India and is expected to produce a report by March. “By end of March, we would be ready with everything that is required for the auction process,” Vaishnaw told CNBC.
“We expect the auction process to be completed by somewhere near July, August,” he said, adding that the industry is also preparing equipment and 5G rollout plans, including which cities would be prioritized.
When asked if Chinese vendor Huawei would be allowed to participate in India’s 5G rollout, Vaishnaw highlighted that for any company to be a part of the local market, it would have to meet the country’s criteria set for telecom equipment providers.
Last year, Huawei and China’s ZTE had been excluded of India’s 5G trials, according to previous reports.
The government of India expects local operators to launch 5G service in some parts of the country by mid-August 2022, local newspaper Business Standard recently reported.
According to the report, a source with knowledge of the matter said that a limited 5G launch is possible by that time, if the country’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) provides clarity around available spectrum. The report also said the Indian telecom industry needs to be given an assurance that the reserve price for 5G spectrum would be reduced.
Telecom industry body COAI has recently asked the government to cut the reserve price of spectrum by more than half, for the proposed auction especially for 5G services.
According to previous reports, India plans to award bands such as 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and 3,300-3,600 MHz. Through the spectrum auction, operators will be also able to bid for spectrum in the millimeter-wave band.
Indian operators Reliance Jio Infocomm, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have recently received a six-month extension from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to conduct 5G trials. With this extension, the carriers will be able to carry out 5G trials until May next year. Initially, telcos had been authorized to test 5G technology until 26 November.
In May, the DoT had awarded 5G trial spectrum for six months in the 700 Mhz, 3.5 Ghz and 26 Ghz bands, paving the way for local carriers to partner and develop 5G use cases.
Jio is currently testing its own indigenously developed 5G RAN and Core technologies, while Airtel and Vodafone Idea have partnered with Nokia and Ericsson to deploy trial networks in various cities.
