COAI Advocates for Fair Play in 5G Allocations

Top telecommunications companies When it comes to acquiring 5G spectrum for captive networks, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have all emphasized the importance of a level playing field. They argued once more that direct allocation of 5G airwaves to enterprises for captive networks would kill operators' 5G business cases.

“If the independent entities set up private captive networks with direct 5G spectrum allotment by DoT (Department of Telecommunications), it will diminish the revenue so much that there will be no viable business case left for the TSPs and there will not remain any need for 5G Networks rollout by TSPs,” Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement Thursday. COAI is the trade association for India's three private telcos.

According to the organization, companies interested in using 5G spectrum for captive networks have also applied for open bidding of airwaves, "which ensures that a level playing field is maintained and all interested parties bid for the spectrum required by them."

Apart from the three Indian telcos, Adani Data Networks, the fourth applicant seeking to participate in the auction, has stated that it intends to use the spectrum acquired through the auction to provide private network solutions for its enterprise business across airports, ports, and logistics, power generation, distribution, and manufacturing operations.