As the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) gears up to give its recommendations for the upcoming 5G auction by March-end, there is a clear divide among telecom operators on certain points. The operators on Tuesday submitted their written comments to Trai on some queries raised during the open house discussion on February 8. Though all the operators are unanimous on their demand to cut the reserve price, the divide is clear on some other points.

For instance, Reliance Jio wants all the available spectrum to be auctioned, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have proposed that 526-617 MHz not be auctioned in the upcoming sale as there is no ecosystem as of now. The band, however, should be reserved for mobile services.

On the bundling of the E band spectrum (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) with access airwaves, Jio again has a view different from that of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. While the former supports standalone auction of E band, the latter want it to be bundled with access spectrum. Further, on the issue of millimetre wave band, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are on the same page whereas Bharti Airtel is siding with satellite players. While RJio and Vi reiterated that all the spectrum should be auctioned, Bharti sided with satellite players in reserving 27.5 GHz to 28.5 GHz for satellite services.

Interestingly, Jio’s partner in its satellite joint venture, SES, wants that 27.5 GHz to 28.5 GHz should not be auctioned for 5G. SES has submitted that 27.5 GHz-28.5 GHz and 3600 MHz-3670 MHz bands are being used to provide satellite services in India. “…both of these band segments should be excluded from India’s 5G auctions as unnecessarily jeopardising productive satellite services in order to satisfy uncertain 5G spectrum demand,” SES said in its comment on the upcoming auction.

Further, some broadcasters want that 3600 MHz-3670 MHz be excluded from the sale as the band is currently being used by some channels owned by Zee Network and Network 18.

Jio, however, is supporting the demand of internet service providers to be eligible for the upcoming auction.

Trai is expected to come out with its recommendations by the end of March, after which the department of telecommunications (DoT) will commence the process to auction the airwaves. DoT hopes to complete the auction by May-June so that services can be launched by August.