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World Telecom Day: Timely spectrum assignment necessary for rapid 5G deployment, says GSMA’s Mats Granryd

Granryd added that an open consultation process for planning on the WRC19 millimeter-wave bands should be held in a transparent and uncomplicated manner, ensuring that each telco receives 300MHz of spectrum for 5G during the next spectrum auction at affordable reserve prices.

Ashutosh Kumar
  • Updated On May 17, 2021 at 07:12 PM IST
Read by: 100 Industry Professionals
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<p><strong><em>Image Source: GSMA. </em></strong></p>
Image Source: GSMA.
NEW DELHI: The Indian government should assign spectrum timely for both access and backhaul for rapid and sustainable deployment of the fifth-generation or 5G networks, a top GSM Association (GSMA) executive said on Monday, adding that it will help in achieving the vision of a ‘Digital India’.

“Spectrum is a valuable and scarce public asset best used for widespread high-quality networks. We recommend setting reserve prices with spectrum at affordable levels to incentivize investment. 5G rollout depends on the ability of operators to invest at extremely high spectrum prices, which means that consumers do not benefit and India's effort to become a high promise $5 trillion economy slows down,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.

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He was speaking at a virtual event organized by the think tank Broadband India Forum on the occasion of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2021, which falls on May 17.

Granryd added that an open consultation process for planning on the WRC19 millimeter-wave bands should be held in a transparent and uncomplicated manner, ensuring that each telco receives 300MHz of spectrum for 5G during the next spectrum auction at affordable reserve prices.

To be sure, the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) had identified new global spectrum bands such as 26GHz and 40GHz for IMT, while mid-frequency spectrum in the 3GHz range (from 3.3-4.2 GHz) is on the agenda for the 2023 WRC, as well as, the 6GHz band.

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“Now, the full speed and capabilities of 5G really do depend on the extra capacity of licensed 6GHz spectrum, in fact, that there is a clear threat to this growth if sufficient CCR spectrum is not made available for 5G,” Granryd further said, adding that it will bring the data speeds and capacity needed for smart cities, industrial automation, and transport.

But to harmonize the 6GHz band, mobile operators will need the “financial certainty and quality guarantee that lies in the spectrum to make massive long term investments in critical infrastructure for citizens and governments alike,” he said.

5G networks, according to the executive, could bring huge benefits to the Indian economy by way of adding approximately $450 billion during 2020-2040 to the Indian gross domestic product (GDP).
  • Published On May 17, 2021 at 07:11 PM IST
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