Telcos ask govt for entire 6GHz band

Say it will help fulfil vision of taking global lead in 6G

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

Telecom operators Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, and the Cellular Operators Association of India have made a pitch to the government, demanding that the entire 6GHz band, with 1200MHz of spectrum, be allocated through auction for mobile communications, and not be divided with others for low-powered delicensed wifi use.

This, they say, will help the government in fulfilling its vision of taking a global lead in 6G in terms of an early rollout of world-class networks and indigenous technology development.

They are also pushing for doubling the period of validity of spectrum not only in the case of future auction but also for the spectrum they currently hold — from 20 years to up to 40 years — justifying the move on the basis of the capital-intensive nature of telecom infrastructure, the evolving technology landscape, and the long-term investment horizon required to develop and monetise the business.

The three operators in the first week of November were responding to a consultation paper of the telecom regulator on auctioning radio-frequency bands identified for International Mobile Telecommunications.