Launching of 4G And 5G Technologies

3G spectrum was auctioned through simultaneous ascending e-auction during April 2010. Four (4) Blocks of 2X5 MHz of spectrum in 2.1 GHz band has been auctioned in 17 service areas and five (5) Blocks 2X5 MHz of spectrum has been auctioned in five (5) Telecom Service Areas including BSNL/MTNL.

As per the provisions of Notice Inviting Applications issued for 3G auction, the following rollout obligation conditions were incorporated.

(1) Roll-out obligations for 3G Spectrum:

(i) Metro service area:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall be required to provide required street level coverage using the 3G Spectrum in at least 90% of the service area within five years of the Effective Date.

(ii) Category A, B and C service areas:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall ensure that at least 50% of the District Headquarters (“DHQ”) in the service area will be covered using the 3G Spectrum, out of which at least 15% of the DHQs should be rural Short Distance Charging Areas (“SDCA”), within five years of the Effective Date. Further:

* the operator shall be permitted to cover any other town in a District in lieu of the DHQ;

* coverage of a DHQ/ town would mean that at least 90% of the area bounded by the municipal/ local body limits should get the required street level coverage;

* the DHQ shall be taken as on the Effective Date;

* the choice of DHQs/ towns to be covered and further expansion beyond 50% of DHQs/ towns shall lie with the operator.

TRAI has released pre-consultation paper on 4G technologies on 10-02-2010 to identify the issues involved in allocation and pricing of spectrum for such services and issues related to licensing. Based on views received from the stakeholders, TRAI has released a consultation paper on 19-08-2011.