Airtel the only telco to have taken E-band spectrum

Bharti Airtel is the only telecom firm to have taken E-band (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications for meeting backhaul requirements. The remaining three 5G spectrum winners - Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Networks - have so far not applied for E-band carriers.

A large capacity backhaul is necessary to facilitate Indian consumers with a good 5G experience. But for that, the fiberisation of towers is necessary. Since fiberisation isn’t possible for every tower right away, the telcos can utilise the E-band spectrum (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) for backhaul because it is also very much capable of handling large capacity of data.

Aside from Airtel, the other players might be wondering whether it would be better to wait until the cost of using E-band airwaves is clear. The telcos might just end up using fiber as the last resort for backhaul services if the E-band proves to be costly. However, Bharti Airtel would have to pay for the band regardless of whether it is expensive or affordable.

The telcos could also use both E-band and fiber for backhaul. E-band airwaves would be useful in areas where the fibre is very difficult to deploy. The price of the E-band spectrum will be announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) after proper research.