India’s three main mobile operators have urged regulator Trai to cut the base price in the next 5G spectrum auction by 90-95 percent, Business Standard reports. The regulator had earlier recommended a price of INR 4.92 billion per MHZ for pan-Indian spectrum in the 3.3-3.67 GHz frequency band.
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, along with the Cellular Operators Association of India, have also said the base price for the millimeter band (24.25 Ghz-28.5 GHz) should be only 1-2 per cent of that for the mid-band spectrum.
Trai is expected to issue its recommendations in March, after which they have to be cleared by the cabinet for the auction process to start.
The three operators have also expressed their preferences related to spectrum payment. Bharti Airtel has recommended no upfront payment for auctions and a 6-year moratorium on any payment, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) supports this option. Bharti Airtel wants no interest charged on spectrum installments, while Vi seeks interest at the RBI repo rate. Airtel is also demanding a 24-year annual installment plan after the moratorium.
Reliance Jio is ready to pay 10 percent upfront and settle for a shorter moratorium of 5 years instead of six. However, it plans to pay the remaining money over 25 years and also believes that the EMIs should be paid at the RBI repo rate of 4 percent.
Reliance Jio has also suggested that the entire 1GHz should be assigned through an auction for mixed use by telecom operators for both terrestrial and satellite networks. Reliance Jio recommends that the buyer should be allowed to sub-lease part of the 1GHz to any place for the gateway operations of satellite players.
As to the proposed 35 percent spectrum cap, Jio says that in a 3-player market, a 35 percent cap will not promote competition and supports a 50 percent cap instead. Vi claims that the 35 percent cap should be maintained.
