Published 15:26 IST, October 14th 2019
IMC 2019: Ravi Shankar Prasad promises reforms in spectrum pricing
Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday promised reforms in the cost of spectrum and said that auctions will take place in the current fiscal year
Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday promised reforms in the cost of spectrum and said that auctions will take place in the current fiscal year. Prasad was speaking at India Mobile Congress 2019 in New Delhi. This comes amid widespread concerns over excessive pricing of radiowaves including 5G.
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2019, Prasad said the government was aware and alive to some problems and challenges being faced by the telecommunications industry.
"Spectrum auctions will be done this financial year... We are undertaking some reforms in spectrum pricing," he said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had last year recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially-stressed industry that is buckling under high debt, had argued that proposed prices are unaffordable and exorbitant.
Some industry players had pointed out that the average price of 5G band auctioned in countries like South Korea, Spain, the UK and Italy comes out to be Rs 84 crore/MHz, whereas Trai's recommended price for the same band is 5 to 6 times higher at Rs 492 crore/MHz.
Watch full keynote address of Ravi Shankar Prasad
Bharti Airtel's vice-chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal also said that high cost of the spectrum, as well as the cost of deploying networks, are expected to affect India's debt-ridden telecom sector. Mittal said 75% cost of deploying optical fibre in India includes the fees charged by local authorities. Mittal was also speaking at India Mobile Congress 2019.
(With PTI inputs)
Updated 15:42 IST, October 14th 2019