The disagreements are over how India’s most important digital resource – radio spectrum – should be used, how much it should cost, when critical new frequencies should be released and whether telecom companies should get more flexibility in rolling out services.
The biggest tension is over the 6 GHz band, which could power superfast Wi-Fi and future 5G/6G networks. The disagreements also cover the 600 MHz band, the timing of spectrum auctions, price reductions for spectrum, limits on how much spectrum one company can buy and long-term rules.
According to the Big Tech companies, spectrum in the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz ranges for international mobile telecommunications (IMT) should not be offered in the next auction.
“This is because technical and commercial readiness for IMT in the 6 GHz band is not established,” Amazon, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Meta Platforms, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Intel Corporation said in a joint statement, countering comments to the telecom regulator’s consultation paper on spectrum auctions.
These companies said early trials indicate performance limitations. They told Trai that Hong Kong conducted the world’s first commercial auction for the upper 6 GHz band for mobile services. However, the auction concluded with weak market performance across several key metrics. The reasons were immaturity of the device and infrastructure ecosystem, limited global adoption for mobile services, lack of compelling use-cases and existing spectrum sufficiency, they said.
Bharti Airtel echoed the view of the Big Tech companies, saying that “the global ecosystem for this band, in terms of devices and network equipment, remains in its infancy.”
Device ecosystem not ready
The Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology, which represents the country’s electronics and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) hardware sector, asked Trai to defer auctioning this band because devices and the infrastructure ecosystem are not ready.
“A premature auction would isolate India technologically as Europe and several major markets are still finalising their 6 GHz implementation strategies,” Suhail Zaidi, director general of MAIT, said in a statement to Trai. “Holding off until those decisions are complete will allow India to align its band plan with global norms, secure economies of scale and benefit from mature device ecosystems.”
However, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India’s largest telecom operator by market share, wants the government to immediately auction the complete 1200 MHz quantity of spectrum in the 6 GHz band (from 5.925 to 7.125 GHz).
“Spectrum in the 6 GHz band is a critical part of the 5G/6G mid-band spectrum configurations, and it is imperative that the entire band should be auctioned in case we want to realize the national vision of global 6G leadership. Further, early auction will drive indigenous innovation, research, and early deployment of world-class networks,” Jio told Trai.
Of the 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band, only 400 MHz is available immediately for auction. The government recently proposed to carve out a portion (500 MHz) of the 6 GHz band for licence-free use. The remaining 300 MHz in the 6 GHz range is expected to become available for mobile services only by December 2030.
Similar issues exist for the 600 MHz band. Both Jio and Airtel are at loggerheads over auctioning this band. The band was offered for the first time in the 2022 auction cycle but did not find any takers owing to the nascent global ecosystem and limited device and network readiness. It was not part of the 2024 auction.
Reserve pricing
Spectrum price is another divisive issue. While telecom operators have called for a sharp cut in the base price in the next spectrum auction, Jio has opposed any reduction in the reserve price for existing bands from their last auctioned price.
“Such reductions have no logical or reasonable justification and in fact will lead to significant erosion of the value of the spectrum for the buyers who bought the spectrum in preceding auction,” Jio said, adding that such unreasonable practices will have a serious impact on investor confidence.
A drastic lowering in prices for bands that have already been sold in the previous auction creates investor uncertainty, leading to the possibility of a muted response in the next auction, the telecom operator said.
However, Bharti Airtel reiterated that a substantial reduction in spectrum reserve prices across all frequency bands is essential to realize India’s digital transformation agenda. The company said that “high reserve prices have historically resulted in spectrum remaining unsold or underutilized, thereby impeding network expansion, constraining investment and diminishing service quality.”
According to Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at Trai, the regulator will need to strike a balance between affordability for users and the revenue-generating potential of spectrum. Spectrum represents a critical revenue stream for the government, which sets a base price and expects companies to bid higher. A premium over the reserve price translates into higher government revenue.
“Getting the spectrum is a major expense for operators. In case Trai decides to lower the reserve price, then it will benefit not only the operators but the end users as well,” Gupta said.
Aggressive bidding eases
However, aggressive bidding for spectrum has eased since 2021, with most of the airwaves sold near their reserve prices—a shift driven by industry consolidation, high base prices and the financial burden of recent 5G rollouts.
In the June 2024 auction, 10,522.35 MHz of spectrum with a reserve price of ₹96,238.45 crore was put on the block. Of this, 141.40 MHz of airwaves worth ₹11,341 crore were sold.
In 2022, before the launch of 5G services, of the 72,098 MHz of spectrum worth ₹4.3 trillion offered, operators acquired 51,236 MHz of spectrum worth over ₹1.5 trillion.
Another major point of contention between the operators is a cap on the amount of spectrum an operator can buy. Jio said spectrum caps should be completely abolished as they are artificial hindrances that have lost their relevance given the current abundant spectrum supply and mature markets.
On the other hand, Airtel said the spectrum caps are crucial in maintaining a competitive equilibrium and preventing monopoly. The telecom operator wants Trai to reduce the spectrum cap in some of the bands from 40% to 35%.
