Wait For 5G In India Gets Longer As Telecos Granted More Time For Trials, Auction To Be Delayed

The highly anticipated 5G rollout in India has been delayed again as the spectrum auction that was originally said to take place in February-March of 2022 has been pushed further by a couple of months.

Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is undertaking consultations with regards to the upcoming auctions, including for 5G airwaves. ¡°I think they will submit their report by February-mid, is what we are thinking, may be February-end, maximum to maximum March. Immediately after that, we will have the auctions.¡±

Reuters

On final timelines of the auctions, he said, ¡°Today, our estimate is by April-May. I was earlier estimating March. But, I think it will take time¡­ because consultations are complex, diverse opinions are coming.¡±

Earlier, a report by The Economic Times had said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has given Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea a six-month extension to conduct 5G trials till May 2022.

Lack of readiness

Telcos, whose 5G trial permits draw to an end on November 26, had cited lack of readiness of the 5G ecosystem partners as one of the reasons for seeking extension of the trial time period.

DPA

In May this year, the government had allotted spectrum to telecom companies in the 700 MHz band, 3.3-3.6 GHz (GHz) band, and 24.25-28.5 GHz band for testing at various locations for six months.

According to the last reserve price fixed by the telecom regulator, 100 Mhz of 5G spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 GHz band, which would be the average size required to deploy the 5G technology, would be priced at Rs 50,000 crore. Telcos say the price is too expensive for them to buy and hope that the regulator.

Recently, Vodafone Idea had successfully conducted the 5G trial at Gujarat¡¯s Gandhinagar, using a 3.5GHz spectrum band to offer rural broadband connectivity.

AFP

The telecom operator successfully conducted the trial, offering 5G connectivity across an area of 17.1 kilometres while offering speeds of over 100Mbps. Offering seamless connectivity to rural areas has been possible thanks to Nokia¡¯s high gain FWA CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) that allows operators to spread ultra-high-speed as well as low-latency 5G connectivity in rural areas.

Though the rollout in India is still months away, 5G smartphones in the country continue to gain traction and such devices accounted for 22 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2021, according to CMR.

As per CMR's India Mobile Handset Market Review Report for Q3 2021, more than 20 5G-capable smartphones were launched over the course of the quarter.

Across price tiers, 5G smartphone shipments are gaining in strength, and contributing to increased affordability, availability and accessibility.

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