Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea Oppose Direct Allocation of 5G Spectrum

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Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea Oppose Direct Allocation of 5G Spectrum
09 Jun 2022
5 min read

News Synopsis

The ongoing battle between telecom companies and corporate entities over the allocation of 5G spectrum for private captive networks has taken another turn, with leading telcos Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea claiming that such a move would give private companies a back door into the government and rob it. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents the country's largest telcos Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, stated that allocating spectrum to private companies has "no justification whatsoever."

According to the group, telcos are fully capable of offering customizable solutions at an affordable price, and there is no need to directly provide spectrum to private companies. They claimed that this would reduce licensed service providers' revenues, create an uneven playing field, and provide an unfair advantage at the expense of the government's coffers.

“We are of the firm opinion that notwithstanding any advancement of technologies, there is no justification whatsoever for allocating spectrum to industry verticals for operating private captive networks. The licensed Access Service Providers are fully capable of providing all customized solutions including M2M / Industrial 4.0 services in the most competitive and economic manner," the COAI said in a statement.

TWN Special