The central government, on Wednesday, has approved a proposal for directly allocating airwaves to enterprises, paving the way for rolling out of 5G networks.
An official statement stated that the government would auction a total of 72097.85 MHz spectrum with 20 years of validity by July end.
5G services, which will be about 10 times faster than 4G, will be rolled out soon, a government notification on Wednesday stated.
“A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various Low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands,” the statement said.
Also read: Assam: UP man arrested for impersonating as crime branch official
“Spectrum is an integral and necessary part of the entire 5G eco-system,” the official statement stated.
It added: “…the upcoming 5G services have the potential to create new-age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies.”
The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance instalments.