Availability of spectrum, pricing critical for 5G success: Telcos

Spectrum availability across all bands, rational pricing and easy payment terms are among the key requirements for making 5G technology a success in India, telecom operators said on Wednesday.

“Access to adequate and cost-efficient spectrum would be critical for making necessary network investments in 5G roll-out across the country,” said Vodafone Idea MD Ravinder Takkar. Reliance Jio Infocomm said spectrum should be made available across bands for 5G services in one go, which will allow telecom operators to be more efficient in terms of capital expenditure and operating expenditure planning. “There has to be a single chunk of raw material (spectrum) available to us in one go,” said Shyam Mardikar, group chief technology officer for mobility at Jio.

“And then we should use all of that raw material C-band, mid-band, and millimetre wave band, low band, and then create a blueprint which is much more compelling both from efficiency of capital investment and opex, and efficiency of customer experience.” Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, cautioned that until the price of 5G spectrum is rationalised, technology might be confined to urban areas of the country, thus deepening the digital divide instead of bridging it.

For 5G to be present across the country, telecom infrastructure will need to be massively augmented, said Gupta. The Greater India