Spectrum

Ahead of the next spectrum auction, the telecom industry body COAI has urged the government to lower bid prices, saying service providers have yet to recover their huge investments in 5G infrastructure, according to an official. Speaking with PTI on the sidelines of the recently held COAI Digicom Summit, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General S P Kochhar said that the industry expects the government to consider the humongous investment made by telecom operators in 5G, without any return on investment. "I hope that the spectrum prices go down because 5G has seen a lot of capital infusion without ROI. Till the time we start getting ROI, investing in a very expensive spectrum will have to be judged as a cost-effective business purpose. A spectrum cannot be just used by picking it up from the auction, but it has to be made usable with large investments," Kocchar said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in February recommended that the government pu

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia says SIM-binding rules for OTT apps will not be extended, citing national security concerns; satellite spectrum pricing decision awaited

Trai has recommended FY27 spectrum auctions with lower reserve prices, a 35% spectrum cap, incentives for coverage deployment and retrieval of airwaves from firms under insolvency

Supreme Court says telecom spectrum cannot be treated as a corporate asset under IBC, a move bankers say will dent recoveries in Aircel and RCom cases

US tech majors Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Meta, HP, and Intel Corporation have jointly opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea's demand to allocate spectrum in the 6 gigahertz (GHz) band for mobile services. The tech majors sought the entire 6GHz band to be allocated for wifi services instead. In a joint response to telecom regulator Trai's consultation paper for the next round of spectrum auction, the US technology giants have said the technical and commercial readiness in the 6 GHz band is not established for mobile services. "We do not recommend setting timelines for any future auction of the 6425-6725 MHz and 7025-7125 MHz ranges for IMT. TRAI, together with the Department of Telecommunications, should review the allocation of the upper 6 GHz band following the outcomes of WRC-27, including Agenda Item 1.7 concerning 7.125-8.4 GHz," the joint submission said. The tech giants said any upper 6 GHz spectrum that would otherwise remain unused should be made available for unlicensed use i

The telecom department's highest decision-making body on Tuesday sought clarification from TRAI on certain aspects of satellite spectrum recommendations, sources said indicating that fee mooted for urban customers and the annual minimum spectrum charges suggested by the regulator could be some of the areas for the back-reference. The development assumes significance as prominent companies including billionaire Elon Musk-owned Starlink, Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, and Reliance Jio-SES, are keenly eyeing the high stakes game of broadband beamed from Indian skies. The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on satcom spectrum. Sources said the multi-ministry apex decision-making body that looks at significant telecom matters, has decided to seek certain clarifications from TRAI over satcom spectrum recommendations. Areas where clarification are likely to be sought include the

Says proposals will create non-level playing field, impact sustainability of terrestrial services

The regulatory body, in a consultation paper, aims to find demand, scope of service and conditions for allocation across eight spectrum bands

Airtel has asked the DoT for clarity on converting spectrum dues into equity under the 2021 reforms, but will wait for its board to decide on exercising the option

Bought by ADN in the 2022 5G auctions, the airwaves are in the sought-after 26 GHz band

Union cabinet has approved refarming of 687 Mhz spectrum for mobile services and more will be done based on the study by committee of secretaries put in place by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday. Speaking at an event of industry body COAI, the minister said that mobile services need 2,000 Mhz of spectrum by 2030 and the cabinet decision takes the total quantum of radiowaves to 1,587 Mhz. "Yesterday's cabinet, we have approved refarming of 687 Mhz. Which means this takes us from 900 Mhz to 1,587 Mhz. 320 (MHz) will be released immediately, some by the end of next year and some by the end of 2028-29 which makes us ready for 2030," Scindia said at Digicom Summit 2025. He further said the government will ensure that the requirement of the industry is met and there are no hurdles in the digital telecom landscape of the country. "That leaves still a gap of roughly 300 (Mhz). So the ask is not over. The second round of this, Committee of

Airtel has cleared dues from 2012 and 2015 auctions earlier this year

Nokia said it will upgrade over 42,000 technology sites and complete more than 25,000 spectrum expansions across Vi's network

Telecom sector regulator Trai is likely to finalise its recommendation on proposed rules related to spectrum allocation for satellite communications by December 15, an official said on Monday. The government will evaluate recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and thereafter decide on allocating spectrum to satellite communication companies, which will pave the way for satellite-based broadband services in the country. "Trai is working to submit a recommendation on satcom spectrum assignment by December 15. There were several points raised during the open house discussion, some of which were beyond the consultation paper. Those points also need to be looked upon," an official source said on condition of anonymity. Last week Trai concluded an open house discussion on the terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication services. Telecom service providers like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel want ...

In a boost to Elon Musk's Starlink, Communications Minister Scindia has said the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated and not auctioned as sought by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. The satellite broadband spectrum will however be not given free and sector regulator Trai will fix a price for the resource, he told PTI in a text and video interview. "Every country has to follow the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is the organisation that lays out the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear in terms of the spectrum being given out on an assignment basis. In addition, if you look across the world today, I cannot think of a single country that auctions spectrum for satellite," Scindia said. India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency for digital technology. Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation. While ..

GSMA research reveals that only 1 per cent of India's population is unconnected or has no coverage. Domestic telcos say that is too small a market to make a business case

Major satellite players like Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon Kuiper are advocating for lower spectrum prices in India

The government has chosen to allocate satellite communication spectrum through administrative means, rejecting the auction route supported by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal

The disagreement centres around whether satellite broadband spectrum should be auctioned or administratively allocated in India

While Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper are batting for administrative allocation of satellite spectrum, Reliance Industries argues that auctions are necessary to ensure a fair playing field