5G kept out of the offer as Cabinet okays telecom spectrum auction

 

The auctions are slated to be held in March 2021 and the notice inviting applications is expected by the end of this month.

The Centre on Wednesday set the ball rolling for 4G auction that is expected to fetch the exchequer Rs 3.92 trillion by offering 2,251 megahertz (MHz) airwaves. The coveted 5G spectrum has been kept out of the offer.

The auctions are slated to be held in March 2021 and the notice inviting applications is expected by the end of this month. The last spectrum auctions were held in October 2016 and the government earned Rs 65,789 crore from them.

While briefing mediapersons on the outcome of the Cabinet meet, telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “It has been decided by the Cabinet to auction 2,251 MHz spectrum by March 2021.”

The bands that have been put on offer are – 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz.

The 3,300 MHz to 3,600 MHz bands – or the 5G spectrum bands – didn’t make the cut. The base price for the 5G spectrum is around Rs 3.63 trillion.

“The lucrative 5G bands, which would have garnered more funds for the government, have been set aside. The ones on offer are not as attractive and may not serve the purpose of fundraising for the exchequer,” a person in the know said.

The industry had been pitching for the 4G auctions to take place as some licenses in the bands were expiring in 2021.

The Digital Communications Commission, the apex decision making body of the department of telecommunications, in May, approved the spectrum auction plan subject to Cabinet approval.