Telcos disagree over 5G spectrum pricing

KOLKATA: The telecom industry is split on the government’s call to hold 4G and 5G spectrum auctions in 2019, in all likelihood without lowering the prices that the regulator had suggested.While Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have called for the 5G spectrum prices "exorbitant" and called for them to be lowered, new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm is believed to be backing the rates and the auction timing.“In any auction in the future, Bharti Airtel will participate to pick up small chunks of 4G spectrum in certain circles. On 5G, it will depend on the pricing, which we hope will be set at prices which encourage more investments in networks rather than spectrum purchase,” an Airtel spokesperson said in a statement to ET.“Spectrum is the lifeline of the mobile industry. Bharti Airtel has, through participation in various auctions and through merger and acquisitions, created one of the largest pools of spectrum in the industry,” the spokesperson added.69641793 Last week, Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal had termed the proposed 5G prices as “exorbitant, given that the state of the 5G ecosystem is still nascent”, and called for the prices to be cut.Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio, though, welcomed the government move to set a time frame for the sale of airwaves."The prices have been decided after much deliberation by the sector regulator and if a telco needs the spectrum, then it will bid for it during the auction irrespective of the costs," said a person close to Jio.Jio though did not respond to ET's queries on the matter.Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had proposed a sale of 20 MHz blocks of 5G spectrum in the 3,300-3,600 MHz band at a price of Rs 492 crore per unit. For the 700 MHz band — which went unsold in the 2016 sale due to high starting prices — Trai has suggested a 43% cut, to Rs 6,568 crore a unit.Despite intense pressure from some telcos and even from the telecom department, Trai has stood by its 5G prices, saying it was arrived at after extensive consultations, including with global experts.On Monday, new telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that spectrum auctions, including of 5G airwaves, would be held within this calendar year.Vodafone Idea CEO Monday termed the current 5G base price as "exorbitant".In a separate statement to ET, the market leader said the immediate need was to hold 5G trials and develop India-specific use cases and focus on connecting towers with fibre.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2MuDq40