The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued its recommendations for auctioning off millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum for 5G services at a relatively lower price than previous auctions.
In a statement, TRAI recommended including spectrum in the 37-37.5 GHz and 37.5-40 GHz ranges in the next spectrum auction, with a block size of 100 MHz per telecom circle with a validity period of 20 years.
TRAI also recommended setting the spectrum cap at 40% of the total spectrum put to auction, and that “it should not be clubbed with 26 GHz band for the purpose of spectrum cap.”
The regulator also recommended that ISPs and M2M service providers under unified licences be permitted to bid for the spectrum.
TRAI also set the reserve price for the 37-40 GHz bands at INR59.8 million (a little over US$686,000) per MHz, which is over 14% cheaper compared to the 26 GHz spectrum that was up for auction in 2022, according to a report from ETTelecom.
The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) included the 26-GHz band in its 5G spectrum auction in June 2024, but there were no takers, as telcos opted to focus mostly on renewing existing spectrum licences and beefing up mid-band spectrum pools.
Another reason telcos skipped the 26-GHz band last time was the lack of a device ecosystem – something that analysts told ETTelecom will be less of an issue with the 37-40 GHz bands, which are already being used in the US for 5G services.
TRAI had also considered auctioning off the 42.5-43.5 GHz bands for 5G during its consultation, but decided against it as there’s no ecosystem for that band, either.
It’s now up to the DoT to schedule the next auction.
