Trai draws up plan to sell mmWave spectrum

The telecom regulator on Tuesday proposed auctioning nearly 3,000 MHz of millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum in the 37-40 GHz band for 5G services, while recommending the 42.5-43.5 GHz band be excluded because of a lack of a device ecosystem.

At a reserve price of ₹5.98 crore per MHz, the spectrum is worth ₹17,940 crore. The spectrum is over 14 per cent cheaper at reserve price compared with the 26 GHz band, which is also the mmWave band and was auctioned in 2022. In the 2024 auction, there were no takers for the 26 GHz band due to lack of device ecosystem.