One of the leading telecom operators in the country Airtel has appealed to the government to keep a check on the high fees when it comes to the allotment of the 5G spectrum. The company put forward the case that it will be far more beneficial if the next-generation telecommunication network witnesses a faster rollout than to collect revenues at the upfront cost. The Chairman of the Bharti Airtel, Sunil Mittal talked about the importance of the 5G network for the future of the industry. Let’s find out more.
The Impact of Faster Rollout Could be Better
According to a report from PTI, Sunil Mittal who currently runs India’s second-largest telecom company in a statement said that there are a variety of applications across sectors ranging from healthcare to video interactions, which will make 5G a technology to be introduced as soon as possible. The chairman was speaking at the Times Network India Economic Conclave where he added that the 5G spectrum is very crucial for enabling a number of things and that’s the reason why telcos keep urging the government for affordable pricing.
Mittal argued that service provider needs to invest in a faster rollout of the network instead of putting in money on spectrum acquisition allowing for high-speed connectivity with lower latency. It is no secret that the telecom industry has been going through a financial crisis and has always complained about the high reserve prices and now the high cost of the spectrum can be named as one of the reasons.
For those unaware, released its much-awaited spectrum pricing recommendations, and proposed to cut the base price of the premium 3.3-3.67 GHz frequency range by nearly 36% to Rs 317 crore a unit and the rate of the coveted 700 MHz spectrum, by 40% to Rs 3,297 crore per MHz. This move from the regulatory body came to encourage telecom operators to bid aggressively in the upcoming 5G airwaves auction.
Separately, the chairman backed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman when it came to private and unregulated cryptocurrencies. He stated that such instruments pose a "serious problem." He added that there are issues around Know Your Customer (KYC) with such currencies, however, technologies should not be completely banned.
