Telecom secretary puts on hold 5G trial spectrum allotment to Saankhya Labs, IISc Bengaluru

Kolkata: Telecom secretary Anshu Prakash has put on hold the recent allocation of 5G trial spectrum to homegrown semiconductor chipset maker Saankhya Labs and IISc Bengaluru. The development has brought to the fore divergent views of two key wings of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the experimental 5G airwaves allocation process.

Government and industry insiders said the allocations have been held in abeyance as Saankhya and IISc apparently did not follow the mandated process of seeking such experimental 5G spectrum. Instead of directly applying online to the mandated Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) wing, they chose to involve DoT’s Standards, R&D & Innovation (SRI) division in the applications process, a person with direct knowledge said.