The more I ponder over this topic, the more intense is my sentiment of frustration. And that too when one of the most important Sub GHz spectrum, the 700 MHz, is lying idle, unassigned, from the moment it was first offered for auction, i.e in the year 2016. At that time, 2×35 MHz was offered of the total available 2×45 MHz (2×10 was reserved for defense). The outcome of the auction was a lame duck, none could be sold, and then it was offered again in early 2021, with a similar outcome. With no interest from the operators, it became easy for the GOI (Government of India) to give away a valuable chunk (2×5 MHz) of this spectrum to the Railways. Also, recently DOT has informed the TRAI (page 5) that it is in the process of assigning another 2×5 MHz to NCRTC for their LTE-based RRTS System. With this, the total quantum of spectrum available in 700 MHz for commercial use stands at 2×25 MHz (55% of the total possible). Now, the reason this discussion is important is as 700 MHz is an extremely important band to deliver quality 5G services and the operators will need larger chunks of it compared to 4G. Please read — “ 5G in India — The Real Challenge”.
The Background
In order to understand what led us to a situation like this, we need to go back into history. In India, spectrum is valued at Par with Gold, Diamond, or a Rare piece of Art — the price of which is driven by sentiments but not by true economics. Hence, most “spectrum” lay unused both in the hands of the government and the operators. The government didn’t want to part with it without being compensated adequately, and operators holding it couldn’t use it optimally as it made no business sense to do so (especially in rural areas), and that too after having paid for it through their nose. Hence, the spectrum in India largely lay fallow — a large chunk of it with the government since the beginning. Every time all of it will be offered for display (like expensive pieces of art) in the auction (especially true for the last 2 auctions), and operators will end up taking a fraction at the reserve price — transforming the auction process into nothing but an administrative assignment. But an attentive reader might ask, that when most higher spectrum bands have been largely taken (slowly & incrementally) then what is so special about the 700 MHz band? For that, we have to dive right into history.
