US Tech Majors Intel, Cisco Urge India To Delicense 6Ghz, 57-71 GHz bands For Enterprise, WiFi
The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) backed the telcos, calling on the government to “auction 5G spectrum in the low, mid and high bands in 2021 itself,” and also create an airwaves licensing plan, a view that was backed by Finnish gear maker Nokia’s representatives in the meeting.
The government has scheduled a 4G auction in March but is yet to come clear on a 5G auction that is expected later this year.
Telecom secretary Anshu Prakash on Wednesday chaired a meeting with industry stakeholders, including telcos, tech companies, network vendors and internet service providers to discuss possible changes required in the current spectrum allocations process, potential 5G bands and a spectrum usage roadmap for the next decade.
A battle has been brewing in recent months between India’s telcos and global tech giants over accessing premium airwave bands to deliver high-speed mobile broadband services to potentially over a billion people. Recently, US tech majors—Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Broadcom, Cisco, Qualcomm, Intel and Hewlett Packard—urged India’s telecom regulator to emulate the US and allow non-telecom companies to access the 6 Ghz spectrum band without auctions, to ring in alternative technologies such as WiFi-6 that can support 5G-like speeds.
The telcos had opposed the move, saying delicensing this premier band—which is ideal for 5G services—would create a non-level playing field between two sets of entities providing similar services.
Tech companies and telcos are separately engaged in a battle to access two more spectrum bands—E&V—which telcos consider ideal for 5G and want them auctioned. Tech firms want these delicensed too to deliver affordable broadband to the masses.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) called on the government to auction the E&V bands soonest. Its director general S P Kochhar also urged the telecom secretary to expedite steps to update the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP-2018), by including the multiple millimeter wave bands, including the coveted 26 Ghz, that have been backed by the International Telecom Union (ITU) for global 5G deployments, including in India.
At press time, Airtel, Jio and BIF did not reply to ET’s queries.https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com
