In the midst of speculations concerning exorbitant pricing of radio waves including 5G, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has promised “reforms” in spectrum pricing and said that auctions will take place in the current financial year.
The minister has said the government was aware of some problems and challenges being faced by the industry. “Spectrum auctions will be done this financial year… We are undertaking some reforms in spectrum pricing,” he said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had last year recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially-stressed industry that is buckling under high debt, had argued that proposed prices are unaffordable.
Some industry players had pointed out that the average price of 5G band auctioned in countries like South Korea, Spain, the U.K. and Italy comes out to be Rs 84 crore/MHz, while TRAI’s recommended price for the same band is 5 to 6 times higher at Rs 492 crore/MHz.
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