5G auctions likely in May

Mumbai: 5G spectrum auction in India is expected to be held in May this year subject to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) submitting its final recommendations on various aspects of the sale process by March, said a senior official of the telecom department.

Trai is expected to respond to DoTs request for recommendations on modalities such as reserve price, band plan, block size, and quantum of spectrum to be auctioned by next month, following which the department will initiate the auction.

“Trai has indicated that they will send it (recommendations) by March. Thereafter, it will take us a month to make a decision around it,” Telecom secretary K Rajaraman told PTI.

Rajaraman also informed that the DoT has already selected MSTC as the auctioneer for the upcoming auction.

Meanwhile, the telecom regulator has asked telecom and satcom companies to submit any additional comments before 15 February, especially with details around methods for valuation of the spectrum. While both stakeholders have argued for a steep cut in the band price, they remain divided on other aspects including the auction of a high-frequency range of 27.5- 28.5 GHz.