Telcos may have to spend extra Rs 3000 crore in capex for 5G play: Analysts

India’s phone companies may each be forced to sharply expand their tower base and incur nearly Rs 2,700-3,000 crore ($380-430 million) of extra capex if they don’t get access to millimetre wave spectrum in the 26 or 28 Ghz bands, and are compelled to roll out 5G networks using airwaves in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band as recommended by the telecom regulator, say analysts.
This, they say, is since 5G coverage on 3.3-3.6 Ghz airwaves will be less efficient than either 26 Ghz or 28 Ghz spectrum, and will drive up greenfield network roll out costs of telcos planning to go 5G.
Rajiv Sharma, co-head of research at SBICap Securities, estimates India’s aspirant 5G operators “will need at least 15% more towers countrywide to drive tower densification in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz bands compared to the more efficient 26/28 Ghz bands, which will sharply increase 5G network infrastructure-related capex”.