The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom regulator TRAI to expedite its recommendations on pricing of 5G spectrum. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has expressed its desire to have an ‘early’ launch of Next Generation Services in the country by August 15. The Department of Telecommunications, in a letter dated February 22, sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said, “…PMO has urged the Department of Telecommunications to work for the initial launch of 5G by August 15, 2022.” . Also, have been asked to explore the possibilities of getting necessary recommendations from TRAI before March 2022. This has been said in a report by Economic Times.
TRAI had conducted open house consultation regarding pricing, the
Department of Telecommunications has said this after a few weeks of open house consultation with the telecom regulator on 5G pricing. A few weeks back, the telecom regulator held a marathon open house consultation in which TRAI Chairman PD Vaghela explained the complexities of spectrum pricing to shareholders.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has also informed about the availability of extra spectrum
in the 800Mhz, 900Mhz and 1800Mhz bands in a letter sent to the telecom regulator TRAI. The department has talked about the availability of additional 34Mhz spectrum across the country in the 900Mhz band. At the same time, 10 Mhz spectrum has been made available in Haryana in 1800 Mhz band. However, the industry has differing opinions on how much additional bandwidth can be provided in the 800 Mhz band without tampering with the networks.
