The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to soon seek the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations on pricing and other modalities for the coveted millimetre wave bands of 24.75-27.25 GHz.
These bands, popularly known as the 26 GHz band, are ideal for the rollout of 5G services. Further, the millimetre bands will also work as a last-mile connector, from where fibre connectivity would end up reaching deeper areas.
According to industry sources, the DoT wants to put this new spectrum up for auction sometime next year.
This new 5G spectrum will be separate from the Rs 5.22 trillion spectrum sale plan approved by the Digital Communications Commission on December 20, 2019, under which 8,300 MHz of airwaves across 22 circles are set to be put on the block in March-April 2020.
While Rs 5.22 trillion is the overall reserve price for 8,300 MHz of airwaves planned to be put up for auction, only 35 per cent of this is for 5G bands.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has been requesting the DoT to include the 26 GHz band in the planned spectrum auction as it will have a significant bearing on the deployment of 5G technology.
