Cabinet gives spectrum auction nod for 96k crore, allocates additional 5 MHz for Railways

Considering the additional requirement for a national rollout of Kavach, an additional 5 MHz in the 700 MHz spectrum has been reserved for the Indian Railways

The Union Cabinet on February 8 approved telecom spectrum auction across multiple bands at a base price of Rs 96,317.65 crore and also reserved spectrum for the safety of railway/RRTS/metro passengers.

All the available spectrum in 800, 900, 1,800, 2,100, 2,300, 2,500, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands will be put to auction. Spectrum held by certain companies that are undergoing insolvency and which are expiring in 2024 on completion of the term will also be put to auction. If sold, the spectrum will be valid for a 20-year period

There are 13 crore 5G subscribers in India and the base is expected to grow, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said, and added that the spectrum auction will improve the 5G services. Speaking at the Cabinet decision press briefing, he further said that 4,20,000 sites have been deployed by telecom operators so far.

The government is looking to earn Rs 1.20 lakh crore from communication services in the financial year 2024-25 through license fees and spectrum charges from the telecom players, according to Interim Budget documents released on February 1.

As recommended by the TRAI, the reserve prices for various bands have been revised using suitable indexation, the Union Cabinet informed.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will soon issue a notice inviting applications (NIA) — the legal document laying down auction rules and processes. Auctions typically start 45-50 days after the NIA is issued.

The government had earlier assigned a 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz for Indian Railways for the deployment of Kavach — an automatic train protection system. It had provisionally assigned a 5 MHz spectrum in a 700 MHz band for the National Capital Region Transport Corporation. The Cabinet has decided that this 5 MHz spectrum will be assigned to multiple regional and urban rail-based transit systems.

Considering the additional requirement for the national rollout of Kavach, an additional 5 MHz in the 700 MHz spectrum will be reserved for the Indian Railways. This will improve passenger safety and operations of these transportation systems, the government said.

Notably, telecom regulator TRAI had on February 7 sought stakeholders' views on the assignment of additional spectrum to the Indian Railways. The Department of Telecommunications had in mid-2023 informed TRAI that the Indian Railways wanted an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be allocated for enhancing its safety and security systems.

The Cabinet has decided to set up a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary to oversee spectrum reforms. The committee will have representatives from all relevant stakeholders and finalise the plan for the re-farming of certain spectrum bands.