DoT looking at telcos’ pleas on notice period for new service

Mumbai: The telecom department may favourably consider requests by Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel to halve the notice period for starting services based on a new technology to six months, a move that may increase bidding interest in the upcoming spectrum auction.

If the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) approves the requests, the telcos will be allowed to offer 5G services on 4G spectrum bands such as 700 MHz or 800 MHz that also support the faster mobile standard and can be purchased in the March auction. It’s not clear when 5G airwaves in the 3,300-3,600 MHz bands will be auctioned. “Both Airtel and Jio have written to reduce the pre-intimation notice period for a new service.

DoT is considering their requests and it is possible to reduce the notice period from one year to six months,” said an official aware of the development.

Surprise Move
Jio has said it is 5G-ready and has developed its own eco-system that will make the telco a global 5G vendor.

“Right now, 5G is not getting auctioned. But tomorrow if the telcos decide to roll out 5G on technology-neutral spectrum bands, they should be able to do so. No one should point out that 5G as an offering was not mentioned at the time of auction,” said the official.

The official said operators may be tempted to add spectrum if they are able to offer 5G services on spectrum bands that will be made available in March. Currently, telcos can offer services based on any technology on any airwave but need to intimate the DoT a year in advance if they plan to start a service based on a new technology on a particular spectrum band.

According to an analyst, Jio’s request is understandable since it had been hoping that 5G spectrum bands would be part of this auction, but Airtel’s request is a surprise.

“Airtel does not want to remain behind in case 5G is possible in the given bands, considering it did lag in the 4G rollout when compared to rival Jio,” the senior telecom analyst said.

Airtel and Jio did not respond to ET’s queries.

A reduction in the intimation time would help DoT to show that the country has launched 5G services almost in tandem with developed markets.

Jio and Airtel are expected to be the major bidders in the spectrum auction. DoT aims to sell 2,250 MHz of 4G airwaves across seven bands from March 1, although it is yet to clear the air on when 5G airwaves will be auctioned.

The government may net ₹40,000 crore from the auction in which airwaves worth ₹3.92 lakh crore at the base price will be up for sale.

Jio, the only profit-making telco, is expected to spend ₹20,000 crore, followed by Airtel, which is likely to spend ₹10,000-15,000 crore in the auction.