
Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is to finalise the 5G roadmap for India, Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Airtel, has put in a word with TRAI recommending affordable price of 5G radio waves ahead of spectrum auctions.
As per Sekhon, 5G will have a mass appeal. The technology will not be confined to a niche or premium segment, as cheaper devices become available in a market prepping for the next generation of services.
Sekhon believes spectrum pricing to be crucial and in his opinion, if operators are made to buy an expensive spectrum, their cash flows will be stretched, whereas if the pricing of 5G spectrum is made more affordable, it is likely that the operator will bring the same money on increasing footprint faster.
Moreover, “some bands have been going unsold for multiple auctions because they are so expensive. For every frequency, we buy, it doesn’t mean I can go and light it up tomorrow. I will have to put radio, especially for 5G. So, there will be a capex on both sides,” Sekhon explained.
He, however, did not comment on what pricing will be seen as viable or affordable.
Further, Sekhon added that once new services come up, 5G proliferation will gain full traction, and smartphone overall cost would come down.
Faster speeds, powered by 5G, will spur new possibilities in India. Also, 5G will enable new possibilities in areas like education, industrial use case, entertainment, cloud gaming, and others.
Meantime as TRAI finalises the 5G recommendations, telecom service providers are in full throttle conducting 5G trials in Delhi, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Gurugram, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Pune and Varanasi, including urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
Bharti Airtel has also recently showcased the possibilities of the 5G era, as it harnessed immersive video technology over the next-generation network, to recreate the in-stadia experience of Kapil Dev’s legendary 175 run innings from the 1983 cricket World Cup. Airtel has said it is fully prepared for 5G in the emerging digital world and is building a robust pipeline of innovative use cases for India.