The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) had last week backed the TRAI’s (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommendations for the base reserve price of the airwaves for the 5G spectrum auctions. Along with that, the body had said that the premium ‘E-Band’ spectrum should be given exclusively to the telcos via an administrative allocation route.
However, this has seriously disappointed the tech companies and Wi-Fi/Broadband players across the country. ET Telecom reports that these companies will shortly write to the government that the DCC’s decisions are in direct conflict with what the sector regulator had suggested. Basically, the tech companies and the broadband companies want the E-band spectrum to be opened up for everyone and not just be reserved exclusively for the telecom operators.
E-Band Spectrum Necessary for Backhaul
DCC had suggested that the telecom operators should be given the E-band spectrum in an administrative allocation manner, but for this, the telcos would have to pay in the future based on an auction-based pricing mechanism that the regulator will determine.
Even the telcos might not be too happy with this recommendation. The telecom operators wanted the E-Band spectrum via a direct allocation method because it is ideal for providing mobile broadband services. Especially with 5G coming into the picture soon, the telcos will need all the backhaul support they can get from the premium E-band airwaves.
For the unaware, in places where the telcos can’t deploy fiber for backhaul services, they can use the E-band spectrum. But this is something that the tech companies are saying that they will need too.
DCC had said that the spectrum should not be directly allocated to the enterprises for private 5G networks. This, too, was contrary to what the sector regulator had suggested. This is something that the telecom operators would have been happy to hear.
