Telcos’ body COAI bats for more 5G spectrum; says mid band 6GHz airwaves needed for optimum service quality, costs

New Delhi: Industry body COAI on Tuesday made an aggressive pitch for setting aside mid band 6GHz spectrum for mobile operators, saying it is critical for proliferation of 5G services, and that delicensing it to a “use for all” will hit the quality and cost of the next-generation services. Radiowaves in 6GHz is a sweetspot for telecom service providers as the current spectrum in the mid band is “woefully short of requirement of telcos”.

Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) cautioned that 5G deployments, speeds and affordability of services will “suffer greatly” if 6GHz spectrum is not allocated to mobile services in India.