Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks


The pricing of 5G airwaves set by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been opposed by the telecom operators since the beginning. All the major telcos operating in India have shown their concern around the exorbitant pricing of the available spectrum. Since 5G is on the cliff, the Department of Telecommunications is planning to hold 5G auctions by seeking a revised base price from the telco regulator for the 3300-3750 MHz along with floor prices for other spectrum bands to support the 5G technology. As reported by ET Telecom, the upcoming 5G airwaves auction might happen next year, and it will give the government upfront payment in the current fiscal year ending on March 31, 2022.
TRAI Set Rs 492 Crore/Unit Price Base Price in 2018
Back in 2018, TRAI set Rs 492 crore/unit base price for the 3300-3750 Mhz band. The base price was highly exorbitant to the telecom operators. Now the telecom operators are expecting lower starting rates from the regulator for the development of next-generation networks. Not only this but, the telco also wishes for additional quantities of spectrum across more 5G bands. The telecom regulator will be eyed upon for the base price for the spectrum available with DoT, including the airwaves in the 5G band of 3300-3750 Mhz band. Apart from this, DoT will also seek base prices for the 600 Mhz and 700 Mhz bands, popularly known as sub-GHz bands and 2425 Mhz-2850 Mhz, known as millimetre waves.