5G auction likely to be held in early June: Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Minister said the Department of Telecom is working as per the timeline and the process of resolving concerns around the spectrum pricing is being worked upon. The government is likely to hold the 5G spectrum in early June, as per Mr Ashwini Vaishnaw. 

5G spectrum auction timeline

Indian Telecom Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw said the spectrum auction will happen around early June. This will set up the stage for the 5G network rollout across the country. “We are very much as per our timeline to conduct the auction,” Vaishnaw said. The mega auction is valued at 7.5 lakh crore at the base price across multiple bands for radio waves allocated over 30 years. 

Furthermore, the Minister said the Digital Communications Commission will take a call on the TRAI recommendations and approach them for clarification. The telecom watchdog has recommended a mega auction plan of over Rs 7.5 lakh crore for over 1 lakh megahertz spectrum in case the government allocates it for a period of 30 years. However, in the case of 20 years, the total value of the proposed spectrum auction will stand at Rs 5.07 lakh crore at the reserve price.

While TRAI has reduced spectrum price by about 39 percent compared to the last price, telecom operators have opined that the recommended rates are higher than global benchmarks. We can speculate once the spectrum pricing issue is ironed out, the auction timeline will be officially announced to the public. Airtel, Jio and Vi have conducted 5G trails across various cities in the country and are ready for the rollout of the network once the spectrum formalities are completed.