Telecom industry body COAI has said auction of spectrum for 5G services should happen only around the second half of 2019 as it would offer telcos better visibility into market dynamics and potential revenue streams of the next-generation mobile services.
The pricing of 5G spectrum, which would be required in larger blocks or chunks than seen before, would also be “critical component of success of these auctions” that should ideally take place in the “mid to latter part of 2019”, Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI.
Further, the ongoing financial stress in the industry will also have to be dealt with for the telecom operators to make investments into 5G auctions, he said. Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan had earlier said that India wants to be a front runner in adopting 5G technology and will prepare the roadmap for it this year.
The government has also called upon industry, academia and startups to do their bit to help India take a lead in the 5th-generation wireless system which enables higher-speed mobile broadband, mission-critical services and massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment.
Mathews said that the industry will take a close look at emerging use cases for 5G and government policies while evaluating auctions. He acknowledged that 5G offers a plethora of opportunities for telecom operators, but added that outcomes and revenue streams will have to be far more defined than they are at present.
