‘Auction for 5G spectrum likely in April-May 2022’

The auction for the 5G spectrum is likely to take place around April-May next year, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

While relief measures announced in September this year for telecom operators marked the first set of reforms, the government will bring out a series of further reforms and ‘telecom regulatory structure should change in coming 2-3 years’, Vaishnaw said.

Speaking at the ‘Times Now Summit 2021’, the minister said India’s telecom sector regulation has to be benchmarked with the global best, and added that ”so, we will come with a series of reforms in this, such that the global benchmark of regulations is achieved in India”.

On the timeline for 5G auctions, Vaishnaw noted that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which looks at the structure of auctions, is undergoing consultations on the matter. ‘I think they will submit their report by February-mid is what we are thinking, maybe February-end, maximum to maximum March. Immediately after that, we will have the auctions,’ he said.

The comment assumes significance as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was earlier hopeful of holding 5G auctions by the end of the current fiscal.

Giving a specific timeline for the upcoming auction will be difficult at this stage since much depends on the time Trai will take to finalise its views, the minister added.

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