Jio, Voda Idea oppose key 5G band allocation to Railways
Financial Express Mumbai|March 11, 2024
700 Mhz is unavailable, not being put up for auctions in May
JATIN GROVER

AHEAD OF THE auctions in May, operators, especially Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, have opposed the government's decision to allocate additional 5 MHz spectrum worth over ₹19,000 crore to Indian Railways in the 700 MHz band. This is because the same will deprive them from bidding for this band, which may affect the 5G coverage. In addition, the government also stands to lose revenue.

With the entire 45 MHz of spectrum worth over 1.7 trillion in the 700 MHz band already allocated, the same has not been put up for sale in the upcoming auctions.

The 700 Mhz band has already been allocated for the use of different government ministries/departments/agencies, which includes 10 MHz for the defence ministry, 10 MHz for Indian Railways, 5 MHz for National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) and 10 MHz for BSNL. In the 2022 auctions, Jio acquired 10 MHz spectrum worth ₹40,000 crore.

700 MHz is considered a premium band for 5G services as it has the potential to offer wider coverage and in-building penetration.

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