Indian telecom turns monopolistic, proposed 5G auctions will step up trend

Indian telecom pipeline firms are cash-strapped, will find it hard to roll out 5G services soon. But if they do, the pace would be erratic, keeping rural and semi-rural areas under-served

The tortuous sale of RCom’s spectrum to RJio, whenever it happens, or the recently concluded acquisition by Bharti Airtel of Tata Teleservices should make one thing clear. Just as administrative allocation of airwaves during the last decade created conditions for business monopolies, auctions in this decade are also taking the sector closer to a monopoly. The difference is that while the government lost revenues in the former case, it is now fattened.

The reasons are clear. Pricing of airwaves or spectrum in India cannot be a one-way street going only upwards, and has to take into account business realities too.