5G spectrum for private players not a threat to Indian telcos: Ookla report

The recommendation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to assign 5G spectrum to private enterprises is not a threat to the Indian telecom operators, a new report showed on Tuesday.

As India gears up for the 5G spectrum auction, the TRAI is aiming to enable the framework for enterprises to build their own private networks.

According to latest insights by US-based broadband speed tester Ookla, the TRAI recommendations are in line with other 5G markets like France, the US, Germany, Japan, and the UK, and Indian telcos should not see this proposal as a threat.

"While on the consumer side, the rollout of 5G services will boost Indian mobile performance to a potential 10x increase in median download speeds (5G vs 4G LTE), it will also deliver socioeconomic benefits in India, on account of a number of 5G use cases that could enable new applications across all sectors," the insights revealed.

The 5G and 5G Standalone will offer the benefits related to eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), massive IoT and critical IoT to Indian enterprises, allowing better control over their networks with an attractive benefit of the increased security offered by isolating their data from public networks.

Among various sectors that stands to benefit from 5G are the manufacturing sector, representing 20 per cent of the total benefit along with Retail, ICT and Agriculture.

The insights suggested that the Indian telcos should leverage the ongoing buzz around the 5G spectrum to get enterprises interested in digitalisation and closely work with them to enable various 5G use cases applications across all sectors.

Meanwhile, leading industry bodies have hailed the TRAI recommendations of around 35-40 per cent cut in the reserve price for 5G spectrum for mobile services, terming it historic and which can finally put India on the world 5G map.

The telecom regulator has put forward a mega auction plan valued at over Rs 7.5 trillion at the base price allocated over 30 years.

According to industry experts, the TRAI has mooted the concept of sharing of spectrum between the satellite and 5G industry in a harmonious manner.

The entire gamut of available spectrum in 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz spectrum bands has been recommended by the TRAI to be put to auction.

In future auctions, access spectrum will be assigned for a period of 30 years as against 20 years now.

--IANS

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