5G Spectrum Auction
Our honorable Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other sources have also confirmed that commercial 5G services in India will be launched by 2023, with all the major telecom operators already performing trials in multiple metropolitan cities across India.
The 5G network is predicted to add nearly $450 billion to the Indian economy with the applications assisting in accelerating development and job creation. As per the Minister, the 5G rollout will begin in late August or September 2022, usually, the telecom operators need a timeframe of at least 6 months from the Spectrum auction to roll out their all services, so, this will provide the operators enough time to prepare for a commercial 5G launch in India.
During the Budget speech, The Finance Miniter Nirmala Sitharaman stated that 5G mobile services would be available by 2022-2023, suggesting that India is eager to execute the technology. She stated that “All leading Telecom companies, including Airel, Reliance, Jio, and Vi are testing their 5G networks under different practices. The government is also discussing with telecoms and other stakeholders the 5G spectrum aun=ctions that will be under this year. “
About 5G
In Telecommunications, 5G is the 5th-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019, and is a planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most current cellphones. 5G networks are predicted to have more than 1.7 billion subscribers worldwide by 2025, According to GSM Association.
5G networks are cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. All 5G wireless devices in a cell are connected to the internet and telephone network by radio waves through a local antenna in the cell. The new networks have higher downloading speeds, ultimately up to 10 gigabits per second. Also, 5G being faster than existing networks, it also has higher bandwidth and can thus connect more different devices, improving the quality of Internet services in crowded areas.
Due to the increased bandwidth of 5G, it is also expected that the networks will increasingly be used as general INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS (ISPs) for Laptops, and desktop computers, competing with existing ISPs such as cable internet and also will make possible new applications in the internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine areas.
In 2021, the global services market for 5G technology was calculated to be $83.24 billion. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23% to reach $188 billion by the year 2025. To provide flexibility to the telecom service providers (TSPs), a block size of 10MHz for the 3300-3760 MHz band and 50 MHz for the 24.25 – 28.5 GHz band is recommended.
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) should carry out harmonization exercises in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1800 MHz bands immediately after conducting the 5G spectrum auctions so that the frequencies assigned to the TSPs are in a contiguous manner.
Bailing Out Burden Telcos
The telcos owed over Rs 3 lakh crores to the government in the form of AGR dues until September 2020. Bharti Airtel owes Rs 25,976 crores, BSNL owes Rs 683.85 crores, and Vodafone Idea owes Rs 50,399.63 crores. Notably, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Infocomm cleared its dues last year.
In January 2022, the government of India announced a bailout package for Vodafone-Idea (VI), by converting its spectrum auction installments and AGR dues into equity. Because of this, government becomes the largest shareholder in the company owning to a stake of 35.8%.
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