The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), requesting it to submit the recommendations on the reserve price of spectrum for 5G auctions before March, as the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has expressed its desire for the initial launch of 5G by August 15.

The DoT has also informed Trai about availability of additional spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands that can be incorporated for the upcoming auction.

Usually, the DoT does not ask Trai to submit its recommendations in a given timeframe, but this time, since an informal deadline of August 15 has been fixed for the launch of 5G services, a communication to expedite the process has been sent.

“In reference to decisions/action points emanating from deliberations of a monitoring group, PMO has requested DoT to work towards the initial launch of 5G by August 15, 2022 and also explore the possibility of obtaining requisite recommendations from Trai before March 2022. In view of the above, Trai is requested to expedite the matter and provide the recommendations at the earliest,” the DoT said in a letter to Trai.

FE had in November last year reported on government’s plan to launch 5G services by August 15 and to conduct the auction in April-May. The DoT has been holding regular discussions with the industry about the possibility of a limited launch in August, at places where 5G trials are currently going on.

Telecom operators need clarity on unencumbered spectrum that can be put for auction, so that they can place orders for equipment in advance. The networks of all operators can be made service-ready for 5G in a few months, as all the telcos have already upgraded it. The real issue that remains is the division among the operators on certain points like satellite spectrum, bundling of E-band with 5G spectrum and spectrum caps. Trai needs to come to a common ground so that concerns of all are being addressed.

The PMO is pushing for an August rollout of 5G services as India is currently lagging behind in adopting the latest technology. Many countries including the US, China, South Korea and European nations, among others, have already launched 5G services, while India is in a preparatory phase.

Last year, the DoT was pulled up by the standing committee on information technology, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, for not doing sufficient preparatory work for launching of 5G services in India.

After the report was tabled in Parliament, the DoT commenced 5G trials, which are currently underway.