Telcos to get key E-band waves

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will provisionally allot critical E-band (71-76/81-86 GHz) airwaves via the administrative route only to mobile phone operators for their backhaul needs in circles where they will hold 5G spectrum.

The telcos – that will need to pay a spectrum usage charge on these airwaves – will bid at an auction or any other method of allocation that the DoT decides later. Carriers will also need to pay the difference when the final price for such airwaves is decided by the government, though without interest. “For each E band carrier of 250 MHz paired bandwidth, spectrum charges will be charged at 0.15% of AGR (adjusted gross revenue) of TSPs in the interim period, which will be adjusted/recalculated retrospectively (from date of provisional assignment) based on the pricing decided finally,” DoT said in a notification.