5G auction: DCCclears Trai recommendations

The Digital Communication Commission (DCC) on Tuesday cleared the auction of 5G spectrum with a validity of 20 years but decided not to auction part of the millimetre band between 27.5 GHz to 28.5 GHz for the time being.

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA & ANEESH PHADNIS

Satellite operators had wanted that band for their exclusive broadband operations.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended earlier that this band should also be auctioned and given for mixed-use to telecom operators as well as satellite operators. However, in response to the back reference from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), it left the matter to the latter to decide whether this frequency should be allocated or auctioned.

The DCC also accepted the principal of the regulator that the roll-out obligation has to be imposed on each band of spectrum, rather than what the DoT had suggested in its back reference, that it should be applied in a combined manner for both the 5G spectrum bands of 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-27-5 Ghz. However, it has reduced the roll-out obligation 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

The DCC has also stuck to its stand that private networks will not be permitted to get spectrum from the DoT to run their networks or lease spectrum from operators to run an independent network. The Trai had suggested a demand assessment of spectrum requirement of private networks and had disagreed with the Dot's back reference that enterprises should not even be allowed to lease spectrum.