5g Spectrum: The future of telecom Industry in
India

A salient step towards digital connect in modern telecom
Industry

What is the 5G spectrum Test bed?

The millimeter wave spectrum- The 5G spectrum and test bed are the latest news to
telecom industry that has kept every one highly strung. On June 15, Prime Minister Shri.
Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet, approved the rollout of the new era for telecom industryThe 5G Spectrum. Mobile broadband has become and integral part of every citizen daily life.
India’s first 5g test bed is developed as a multi-institute collaborative project by eight institutes
led by IIT Madras. IITs at five locations; IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay & IIT Kanpur along
with IIS Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research and
Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology participated with more than 300 engineers and 40
scientists. They collaborated together to develop a complete end-to-end 5G test bed facility. It
seems India is now ready to play a leading role in shaping future of telecom industry. The test
bed has been set up at a cost of over 28 million US Dollars. This will enable a supportive
ecosystem for Indian industry and startups which will help them test 5G products, prototypes,
solutions and use cases locally. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “self-made 5G test
bed is an important step towards self-reliance in critical and modern technology in the telecom
sector”.

What are the highlights of 5G spectrum?

5G spectrum is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband
networks. This 5G network will operate in the millimeter-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which can
send large amounts of data at very high speeds as the frequency is very high, and it experiences
little interference from surrounding signals. In the high-band spectrum of 5G, internet speeds
have been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second), i.e., Ten times faster than that
of 4G services.
You can now read all the latest telecom industry news on ’Telecom Magazine India’. Keep
yourself updated with facts about the newest technology and latest tech trends of the telecom
Industry in India.

What is the hype around the telecom industry in India about the auction?

A total of 72 Ghz of 5G spectrum which has the validity of 20 yrs. is said to be auctioned,
which is scheduled on 26th of July, by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). IT has
issued a notice inviting potential bidders to this auction. With approval, airwaves will be directly
allocated to enterprises paving the way for them to operate private 5g networks. IIFL Securities
has said that the three telecom operators — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea — will
likely spend only about Rs 71,000 crore in the auction. A vast majority of the spectrum is likely to
remain unsold.

What are the key highlights of the auction in the latest telecom industry
news?

The key highlights of the auction are:
• It is valued more than 5 lakh crores at base price.
• For the first time, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payments by
successful bidders.
• Payments can be made by the winning bidder in 20 equal monthly installments.
• No spectrum usage charge is being levied on air waves.
• Bidders can also surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with
respect to balanced installments
Keep your self-updated on the upcoming auction details and various latest telecom news on
‘Indian Telecom Magazine’.

FAQ’s

What are the viewpoints of other telecom giants?
According to a recent telecom news report from telecom hardware company Ericsson, by
2027, 40 percent of subscribers in India will be on 5G networks. The report also
estimated that by 2027, 56 percent of total mobile traffic in India will be carried by 5G
networks. 5G spectrum adoption in India will be far more diverse than that of 4G, given
the wide reach. There is enough purview in the private network for telecom operators
and technology companies to co-exist. Success, however, depends upon the penetration
of 5G-capable devices. It is better to view 5G not as a single technology, but rather as a
flexible system designed to serve many use cases and many markets. Such extreme
flexibility comes at a cost of increased network and device complexity and, perhaps even
more importantly, greater uncertainty of which features of 5G will be deployed.
2) How much is government expecting in the 5G spectrum Auction?
The government is expecting to earn Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore by auctioning
5G airwaves in July. Hopefully with upcoming auction, the services are expected to start
later this year.
3) Why 5G spectrum as an indigenous invention necessary?
This quantum leap into the new era of indigenous 5G spectrum test bed, provides
solution to full capabilities to test products and applications such as autonomous
vehicles, smart sensors and remote robotics. 5G testbed can help the industry reduce its
dependence on foreign facilities in the absence of IT startups.
4) Where do the other countries rank in 5G spectrum?
For the past two years, China has been at the forefront of the 5G innovations race,
followed by Korea and US.
5) Which telecom giants will benefit from the auction?
Telecom giants Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio will benefit heftily from the
Centre’s no-spectrum usage charges on the upcoming 5G auction.

What are the various bands of 5G spectrum, that are the talk of the telecom
industry news?

The auction will be held for 5G spectrum in various bands like:
Low band (600MHz 700 MHz 800 MHz 900 MHz 1800 MHz 210MHz 2300 MHz) Medium band
(3300MHz) and High band (26 GHz) frequencies. The Mid and High band frequencies will be used
by telecom service to providers to roll out 5G tech-based services. Significantly 5G is capable of
providing speed and capacities about 10 times higher than 4G. Telecos can use and install low
band spectrum for commercial cellphone users who may not have specific demands of highspeed internet. In a nutshell Low-band spectrum may not be optimal for specialized need for the
industry. While the mid-band spectrum offers high speed comparatively, but has limitation in
terms of coverage area and penetration of signals. This network can be used for specific needs of
particular industry as noted by the Telecos. Last but not the least the high-band spectrum offers
highest speed among all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal
penetration strength even less that of the mid-band spectrum. However, the internet speed
tested is said to be as high as 20 Gbps when the normal 4G net speed is to be recorded as 1
Gbps. But there is a snag, Higher the speed, more the no of towers to be installed. Are the
telecom industries in India equipped enough to meet such demands?
Keep your self-updated on the upcoming auction details and various latest telecom news on
‘Indian Telecom Magazine’.

Why was the test bed a breakthrough for the telecom industry in India?

A breakthrough in computing power and network throughput comes first; applications
that make use of these new capabilities are developed later. The testbed that has been jointly
built, has all the components of the 5G network ranging from the antennas, radios, the base
stations to the core network at the heart of the systems. The testbed provides full capability to
support and test iot applications such as, autonomous vehicles, smart sensors, remote robotics,
and alike the test bed supports Indian industry and startups to test and validate their 5G
products and solutions. It will also help build human resource capacity for 5G spectrum in the
country in a quest for ‘Aatmanirbhar’. The institute’s building the testbed, took a further leap to
develop a secure indigenous 5G network solution, for licensing and manufacturing in India on
par with global standards. It is a fitting testimony to the best of the abilities of India. The caveat
is that it is unclear when exactly these new business cases and applications taking advantages of
the progress in speed and power will emerge; it can take a while. But hopefully with upcoming
auction, the services are expected to start later this year. The government is expecting to earn Rs
80,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore by auctioning 5G airwaves in July.
You can now read all the latest telecom industry news on ’Telecom Magazine India’. Keep
yourself updated with facts about the newest technology and latest tech trends of the telecom
Industry in India.

What are major challenges for 5G spectrum installation?

The main challenge for India being left behind in the race of 5G spectrum is, though the
demands of digitalization have to be met, there are still some market dynamics that can hinder
the advent of new technologies of telecom industries in India.
The goal set for fiberization of mobile towers by the end of the 2023-24 financial year is said to
be 70 % more than the current situation. This is necessary to roll out 5G in an efficient manner
and will also boost 4G services simultaneously. But there are several challenges to achieving this
noting current fibrilization update of 34% only. Considering the financial stress of the operators
and their inability to raise tariffs to more profitable levels due to fierce competition, keeping a
high base price will adversely impact participation even though the base price has been reduced
in the bidding. Telecom giants Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio will benefit heftily
from the Centre’s no-spectrum usage charges on the upcoming 5G auction.
To know more facts and detailed particulars of the latest telecom industry news keep
yourselves overhauled with quick read through ‘telecom magazine India’.

How is BSNL trying to meet up the tech trends of 5g spectrum?

When the Telecom Industry in India is on wheels for 5G spectrum Auction, the stateowned telecom, BSNL is still struggling to put up with its launch of 4G. According to the latest
telecom news update, the deadlock between BSNL and TCS continued as BSNL sought for price
hike to supply network gear for 6000 sites to roll out its 4G services. Whereas, TCS sought to
enhance network equipment supply cost. Recently this march BSNL released a purchase order to
procure network equipment for those 6000 sites for a cost of 560 crores. However, the two
companies are working towards a limited inaugural launch of BSNL’s next generation commercial
network by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15.