Govt eases 5G rollout criteria, reducing notice period to 6 months for offering new tech

The government on Thursday eased the path for 5G rollout in the country by reducing to six months the notice period for offering any new technology using the spectrum being put up for auction in March.

Earlier, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked telecom operators to give one year notice before starting any technology using spectrum across the seven frequency bands that will be offered in auction on March 1.

“In case of switching over to different technology while rolling out the networks for compliance of roll out obligations, information regarding the new technology should be given at least six months before any new technology base station is offered for testing,” the amendment in the spectrum auction clause released by the DoT said.

The government has announced plan to auction 2,251.25 Megahertz (MHz) of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore in seven frequency bands — 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2300 Mhz and 2500 Mhz. Bharti Airtel has demonstrated 5G services in the 1800 Mhz band. Reliance Jio has claimed it is ready for rollout of the next generation technology provided it gets spectrum for the same. cnbctv18.com