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 like 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 told reporters on the sidelines of 5G spectrum policy workshop organised by the industry body Tuesday.On Monday, the Government made it clear that it plans to go ahead with spectrum auction, including for 5G radiowaves, in the current calender year. The new Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also set a deadline of 100 days for starting the 5G trials in the country. "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 immediate need to make the telecom sector strong and sustainable and rationalising taxes and levies," said Sharma who was was named chairman of the COAI at industry body's Annual General Body meeting Monday.

Source: Economic Times June 04, 2019 10:07 UTC