Airtel won’t buy 5G spectrum at current prices: Sunil Mittal

Barcelona: Bharti Airtel Ltd will not bid for 5G spectrum if the telecom department holds a 5G spectrum auction at the “unacceptable” prices recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), chairman Sunil Mittal said in Barcelona Tuesday. “Pricing has been recommended, but we are saying it’s not appropriate,” Mittal said.

“The government’s hands are tied by recommendations of Trai. What can they do? They can send it (recommendations) back to Trai, but Trai will again send them back (to the government),” he said.

Trai had in August 2018 recommended auctioning 20MHz blocks in the 3,300-3,600MHz band, the airwaves earmarked for 5G, at ₹492 crore per MHz.