Telcos uncertain if band allotted for 5G trials will be auctioned

India’s much delayed 5G trials could hit a fresh snag, with Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) saying they don’t have any clarity on whether the coveted millimetre wave bands (26 GHz and 28 GHz) – allotted for trials – will be auctioned in the next spectrum sale.

The telecom operators said they cannot spend time, effort and money to developing 5G use cases around these mmWave bands, unless the government commits to their commercial allotment at affordable rates as well. They called upon the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to revise the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP-2021) to include these vital mmWave band airwaves, which will give the carriers clarity before they start trials.

SP Kochhar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told ET that “a reminder has just been sent to DoT that the revised NFAP has still not been finalised by its Wireless Planning & Coordination wing even after various meetings of the working groups were held and inputs provided by all stakeholders”.


The COAI represents Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vi and global network vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia.

Bharti Airtel, Jio and Vi did not respond to ET’s queries till press time.

Though DoT earlier this month allowed telcos to conduct 5G trials on multiple spectrum bands, including mmWaves, the latter does not find a place in the current NFAP.

If mmWave bands do not figure in the revised NFAP-2021, industry executives said 5G deployment costs would jump manifold and make the ultra-fast wireless broadband service unaffordable to consumers in India. They said mmWave bands such as 26 GHz and 28 GHz offer lightning fast data rates above 2 Gbps and huge capacity, which are critical for running 5G use cases cost-effectively, and also since the bulk of the global 5G devices ecosystem is evolving around these bands.

Telcos are being given experimental airwaves in mid-band (3.2-3.67 GHz), sub-GHz (700/800 MHz) and mmWave bands (26-28 GHz) to run 5G trials for six months. So far, only mid-band spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 GHz bands has been earmarked by the government for 5G services.

“Only after mmWaves are included in the revised NFAP, can DoT give a reference to Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) to examine and start fresh consultations on all bands identified for 5G, relook at their pricing and make fresh recommendations for the next auction,” said a senior industry executive, who did not wish to be identified.

Unless this happens soon, the next auction could get pushed back by another 12-18 months, said the executive, and telcos will not see any business case in investing heavily in 5G network trials and developing India-relevant use cases, especially if there is no certainty around the commercial availability of crucial mmWave 5G spectrum.

The revised NFAP-2021 will outline available airwave bands and services for which they can be used, including mobile broadband communications, defence, satellite operations under the Department of Space and also to meet the needs of the aviation, information and broadcasting, railways and home ministries.

“It’s essential the revised NFAP document is finalised and issued at the earliest by DoT as it will earmark spectrum for various usages in the country,” said Kochhar.