The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has finally given recommendations for the 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands
identified for IMT. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sought TRAI's views on whether these bands should be put to auction for the telcos. Now, TRAI has finally made a call on the matter. Here are the recommendations and everything else you should know.
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TRAI Recommendations on 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz Bands
The telecom regulatory body has said that frequency spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz and 37.5-40 GHz frequency ranges should be put to auction in the forthcoming spectrum auction. However, the spectrum in the 42.5-43.5 GHz band should not be put to auction as of now because there's no ready technology ecosystem for it to be put into use.
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TRAI said that the band plan n260 with TDD-based duplexing configuration should be adopted for 37-40 GHz frequency bands. The frequencies in the n260 band (37 - 40 GHz) should be auctioned with block size of 100 MHz on a LSA or a telecom circle level. Spectrum cap for n260 band should be kept 40% of the total spectrum and it should not be clubbed with 26 GHz band for the purpose of spectrum cap.
If the telcos bid for the n260 band, then the minimum rollout obligations for it will be the same as for the 26 GHz band. As for pricing, refer to the table below. Note that the reserve price recommended by TRAI here is in lakhs for each MHz:
For payment of the spectrum, TRAI has recommended that telcos will have two options: 1) upfront payment option and 2) 20 equal annual instalments option, should be allowed for the assignment of spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz and 37.5-40 GHz spectrum bands.
