TRAI Seeks Recommendations for Auction of Spectrum in New Frequency Ranges

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur April 8th, 2024 at 03:27 pm

These frequencies will be used by the telcos alongside other mmWave frequencies available in India to offer private network services to enterprises. It is highly unlikely that this set of frequencies will benefit the consumers directly. A total of 4000 MHz of frequencies are available in the spectrum range.

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Highlights

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), recently released a consultation paper for the auction of spectrum in new frequency ranges.
A consultation paper titled, 'Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT', has been released by the telecom regulator.
TRAI is accepting written comments on the paper from the stakeholders till May 2, 2024, and counter-comments by May 16, 2024.

trai seeks recommendations for auction of spectrum

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), recently released a consultation paper for the auction of spectrum in new frequency ranges. The regulatory body, upon the request of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is seeking recommendations on auctioning frequencies in the following range - 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz.

A consultation paper titled, 'Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT', has been released by the telecom regulator. TRAI is accepting written comments on the paper from the stakeholders till May 2, 2024, and counter-comments by May 16, 2024.

These frequencies will be used by the telcos alongside other mmWave frequencies available in India to offer private network services to enterprises. It is highly unlikely that this set of frequencies will benefit the consumers directly. A total of 4000 MHz of frequencies are available in the spectrum range.

In 37-37.5 GHz, about 500 MHz of spectrum is available in each LSA (licensed service area), 2500 MHz is available in the 37.5-40 GHz band and 1000 MHz is available in the 42.5-43.5 GHz band. These frequencies can be used for IMT services as well as by satcom (satellite communication) service providers for gateway links.

TRAI wants to understand whether the entire quantum of spectrum available in the frequency ranges should be put into auction for IMT services. Further, what should be the time range for which these frequencies should be given to the telcos via the auction? Other things such as the block size, spectrum cap, and more are being discussed in this consultation paper. Industry stakeholders can now submit their views or comments.

It is worth noting that the DoT has already announced a spectrum auction for India on June 6, 2024. This set of frequencies are not going to be a part of the upcoming auction. For more details about the upcoming spectrum in India in 2024, refer to the link below.