A day after the government announced its intention to hold spectrum auctions in the current year, industry body COAI said that the recommended base price of 5G radiowaves is nearly 30-40 per cent higher than the rates in markets such as South Korea and the US.

“Majority of our operators have indicated that 5G spectrum is far too prohibitively expensive and that their balance sheets can’t afford this,” Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) director general Rajan Mathews said on the sidelines of 5G spectrum policy workshop organised by the industry body.

On June 3, the government made it clear that it plans to go ahead with the spectrum auction, including for 5G radiowaves, in the current calendar year. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also set a deadline of 100 days for starting 5G trials in the country.

“Majority of our operators believe that the spectrum for 5G is overpriced by at least 30-40 per cent compared to international standards and auction in other markets like South Korea and the US,” Mathews said.

He said that incentives should be built into the spectrum price, given that 5G services in the country will also aim to serve social goals.

On June 3, new COAI chairman and Vodafone Idea CEO Balesh Sharma had appealed to the government to ensure that 5G spectrum is made available to all players at “reasonable prices” and had pitched for lower levies and taxes to make the sector strong and sustainable.

“5G spectrum should be made available to all players at reasonable prices such that more investments are directed towards enhancing network capacity and capabilities. At the current level, the spectrum prices are exorbitant for sure,” Sharma had said.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has already recommended the auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially stressed industry has contended that prices are unaffordable.

Last week, telecom operator Bharti Airtel had rued that the base price of the spectrum recommended by the regulator is exorbitant and unaffordable. The company had urged the government to review the price of radiowaves to set the stage for an aggressive 5G play.

The telecom ministry also plans to hold detailed discussions with the financially stressed telecom industry on the challenges faced by them and will work on addressing outstanding issues.

“The immediate need is to make the telecom sector strong and sustainable and rationalising taxes and levies,” said Sharma.