Indian telcos want 5G auction deferred |
Joining the chorus with its rivals Airtel and Vodafone, Mukesh Ambani`s Reliance Jio too has asked the 5G auctions to be put off until telecom operators conduct trials and develop use cases for the airwaves priced “extremely high”. Like Airtel, Jio also wants 4G airwaves to be auctioned as soon as possible, to keep pace with surging demand for data and ease network congestion. Jio suggests that 5G spectrum should be auctioned in 2021 as no one will buy 5G now because there is no use. Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have said they would not buy 5G airwaves at the price recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI, terming it too expensive at over seven times the price for 5G bands in South Korea. The Department of Telecommunications has said it planned to auction 4G and 5G airwaves in December 2019 or early 2020, but has yet to allot spectrum for holding 5G trials. The department has also yet to take a call on Trai`s recommendations on price. Jio is the only profitable telco in India and the largest by subscribers.
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