The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has said that telecom operators can get the E-band spectrum from the government in an administrative manner for the circles they have purchased spectrum for. The E-band spectrum can be utilised by the telcos to boost their backhaul to provide a better internet experience to consumers. This means that post the spectrum auction 2022, Vodafone Idea (Vi), Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio can take spectrum from DoT in an administrative manner for backhaul. Note that administrative allocation is being talked about only for the E-band spectrum.
But since it is spectrum received from the Indian government, the telcos will, of course, need to pay spectrum levies on it. According to an ET Telecom report, the telcos will be provisionally allocated the E-band spectrum for meeting backhaul needs via administrative route. However, the telcos will have to pay for the spectrum when the final price for the airwaves is discovered by the DoT. There won't be any interest amount included, though.
Telcos Can Utilise E-band Spectrum in Place of Fibre
Indian telecom operators have been pushing the government to give the E-band airwaves directly to them to enable a future with strong backhaul capacity for delivering excellent 5G services. Backhauls are very important, especially in the 5G environment where so much data is transferred at very high speeds.
If you are wondering, why aren't the telcos just deploying fibre for backhaul? Well, it is not as simple as that. Laying fibre in every part of the country is a tough task. There are multiple factors, including risky terrains and then a lot more areas where the telcos just can't reach with fibre. Thus, the E-band spectrum can be a game changer for the companies in that scenario. Since the E-band spectrum operates at a very high-frequency, telcos can utilise it for backhauls services to boost network capacity.
