5G spectrum price unaffordable;needs to be brought down: Airtel

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said the base price of spectrum recommended by the regulator is “exorbitant” and unaffordable, and urged the government to review the price of radiowaves to set the stage for an aggressive 5G play.

“These prices are exorbitant, given that the state of 5G ecosystem is still nascent. So, we would hope that the government brings down the prices of spectrum and reserve them. That is the stage where we would look seriously at 5G,” the company’s MD and CEO, India and South Asia, Gopal Vittal, said.

Vittal said the base prices recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) places the radiowaves in a ballpark range of ₹50,000-55,000 crore for 100 MHz of spectrum.