Telcos want DoT to make early referral to Trai for recommendation on 26 GHz band

New Delhi: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) wants an “early” referral from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in order to include the coveted 26 Ghz band in the upcoming 5G auctions.

“We request an early referral from DoT to TRAI to make a recommendation for including the 26 GHz band for the planned spectrum auction in conjunction with other bands as this is imperative and will have a significant bearing on realising the deployment of 5G in India,” COAI said in a year-end note.

The government is opposed to using 26 GHz spectrum band for 5G operations as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) wants this spectrum band for satellite services. China, and Russia have also opposed this citing the defence of their military operations.