Broadband India Forum terms telcos' argument on captive private 5G networks as absurd, impractical

Industry body Broadband India Forum on Tuesday termed telcos’ arguments on a level playing field between public and captive private 5G networks as ”absurd and impractical”, and asserted that the two are separate sets of services on a completely different footing and not competing with each other. The age-old and time-tested concept of ’level playing field’ cannot apply in the case of captive private 5G networks, as they have several distinctive traits, which distinguish them from public networks, with whom they are being compared ”without any logic or basis”, Broadband India Forum (BIF) said in a statement.

”Seeking a level playing field with enterprises for captive private networks is akin to a child in kindergarten being asked to compete with someone who has a doctoral degree,” BIF President, TV Ramachandran pointed out. The suggestion that private networks should not be given spectrum in bands, which are possible for telcos to use for offering services is ”unjustified”, as the telcos’ businesses depend on economies of scale, while that of enterprise businesses having private networks does not, BIF said.

Regulations, Ramachandran said, are applied to mature players in the competition, who have significant market share and can abuse it. ”No mature regulator anywhere in the world imposes regulation on a player with no or minimal market share,” Ramachandran said. ”

The telecom players on Monday flagged their concerns over the decision on private captive networks, during the pre-bid conference held by the Department of Telecom (DoT). Industry association COAI – whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea – wrote to the DoT recently expressing disappointment at the government’s decision on captive private networks.