Captive 5G grid opposed

Industry body COAI on Wednesday said there is no justification for allocating radio waves directly to enterprises for operating private captive networks, and that licensed telcos are fully capable of providing all customised solutions in the most competitive and economic manner to private and public sector entities.

The comments of COAI — whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea — assume significance as telecom operators and tech companies have locked horns over the hotly-debated issue of 5G spectrum allocation and captive private networks.

Private enterprises have asserted that giving spectrum directly for creation of captive networks, without any dependency on telcos, would accelerate the digital agenda.