After receiving a nod from the Union Cabinet, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday issued Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the 5G spectrum auction 2022. The government will put the following spectrum bands for auctions – 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 300 MHz, and 26 GHz. The last date for submitting applications for the spectrum auction is July 8, 2022. DoT will declare the final list of bidders on July 20, followed by a Mock Auction on July 22 and July 23. The official 5G spectrum auction will kick off on July 26, 2022. Here are the other key details surrounding the 5G spectrum auction 2022.
Spectrum Usage Charges and Bank Guarantee Requirements
The government has said that there will be zero SUC (Spectrum Usage Charges) for the airwaves acquired in the upcoming 5G spectrum auction. There will be no bank guarantee required either. In addition to this, the telcos can make the payment for spectrum in 20 equal annual instalments, which are to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year. The first instalment will have to be paid within ten days of the declaration of the final price. Bidders/telcos will be given the flexibility of surrendering the airwaves after ten years with no future liabilities with respect to the balance instalments. The spectrum will be given to the telcos for 20 years. The government has decided to provisionally allot two carriers of 250 MHz each in E-band to the telecom service providers (TSPs). The number of traditional microwave backhaul carriers in the existing frequency bands of 13 GHz, 15 GHz, 18 GHz, and 21 GHz bands are also doubled. Enterprises Can Obtain Airwaves Directly from Govt for Captive Private 5G Networks The government has said that the enterprises can directly obtain airwaves from the DoT for building their captive private 5G networks. This is a big blow to the telcos, which didn’t want this to happen. In addition to this, the enterprises can also lease the spectrum from the telcos or ask them to set up a private 5G network.
