JOIN USVi, Airtel, Jio seek more time to conclude 5G trials
Telecom operators like Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have asked the Department of Telecom to provide them with a one-year extension for carrying out the 5G trials in the country.
The operators were supposed to complete the 5G trials within six months (by November 2021) after getting the trial radio waves. However, they are yet to carry out trials in rural locations of the country and their permits come to an end on November 26.
The telecom companies in separate letters to DOT have cited the lack of readiness of the 5G ecosystem partners as a reason for seeking an extension of the trial time period.
The government may give an extension till end-March 2022 for concluding the trials, said an official in the DoT.
The DoT had allotted trial spectrum in the 700MHz, 3.5GHz, and 26GHz bands to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and MTNL in May 2021 for developing locally relevant use cases for the next-generation wireless broadband technology.
Airtel has recently conducted the country’s first rural 5G trial with its telecom equipment partner, Ericsson, in the outskirts of Delhi/NCR. Even Reliance Jio Infocomm had begun their trials in June this year, Vodafone Idea started the trials only a month back.
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Separately, telecom operators have also urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to earmark only unencumbered blocks of spectrum for the 5G auctions. The telcos also asked the regulator to make sure the spectrum is not in use by any government department and has been vacated.
The telcos in their recent pre-consultation meeting with the TRAI also reiterated their demand for a new pricing methodology for the reserve price.
The regulator is likely to soon come out with a consultation paper on the auction, specifying the bands and quantum to be put up for sale. The DoT may hold a spectrum auction in early next year.
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