5G spectrum auction should be held after 2-3 years: PHDCCI

Auction of 5G spectrum should be taken up after 2-3 years, which will help the government get proper valuations of the 5G airwaves, industry body PHDCCI said on Thursday. “While auctions should be held at the earliest, a lot of things need to be kept in mind.

We need to look at whether 4G itself has been used to full capacity, and need to keep in mind that 5G standards haven’t been set,” PHDCCI Chairman (Telecom Committee) Sandeep Aggarwal said. He added 5G spectrum may continue to be given since AGR and SUC will anyway be payable by the operators, and noted that further discussions on this with the stakeholders will be held during TEMA-PHDCCI’s ‘Telecom Summit 2020’.

Aggarwal also emphasised that India should buy 5G technology and ensure local manufacturing through licensing as it would enable domestic telecom equipment manufacturing companies to develop and flourish. 5G trials in the country are widely expected to begin in this quarter. According to sources, the government has received applications for 5G trials and all operators and vendors (including Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE and Samsung) are keen to participate.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has also suggested setting up Telecom Finance Corporation that can provide domestic line of credit funding to telecom operators to procure domestic PMI-compliant equipment. The industry body, along with Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association (TEMA), will host Telecom Summit 2020 on the theme ‘5G Technology: Forging Ahead into a Smarter India’ in the national capital on January 21. The event will provide a platform to service providers, technology vendors, app and content players as well as policy makers to brainstorm and understand 5G technology and things associated with it.

5G has the potential to transform the world and have an impact on how organisations think, work and serve their customers and new innovations will flourish, Aggarwal said. “The objective of the summit is to come out with concrete suggestions on how best to position India as a globally synchronised participant in the design, development and manufacturing of 5G based technologies, products and applications. 5G can give India, with its proven prowess in IT, an edge and an opportunity to become a manufacturing hub of the world,” he added.