Planned base price of India’s 5G spectrum too high, says telecom lobby

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom lobby said on Tuesday that the government’s proposed base price for the auction of spectrum for next-generation 5G networks is too high, as India outlined plans to launch the sale process later this year.

The proposed auction price will be a “serious impediment” to the uptake of 5G in India, said Rajan Mathews, director general of lobby group Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

“The majority of our members believe the present proposed pricing of 5G spectrum is unaffordable and above even global discovered prices”, Mathews said in a brief statement.