Telcos may have to spend extra Rs 3000 crore in capex for 5g play: Analysts

KOLKATA: India’s phone companies may each be forced to sharply expand their tower base and incur nearly Rs 2,700-3,000 crore ($380-430 million) of extra capex if they don’t get access to millimetre wave spectrum in the 26 or 28 Ghz bands, and are compelled to roll out 5G networks using airwaves in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz band as recommended by the telecom regulator, say analysts.This, they say, is since 5G coverage on 3.3-3.6 Ghz airwaves will be less efficient than either 26 Ghz or 28 Ghz spectrum, and will drive up greenfield network roll out costs of telcos planning to go 5G.Rajiv Sharma, co-head of research at SBICap Securities, estimates India’s aspirant 5G operators “will need at least 15% more towers countrywide to drive tower densification in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz bands compared to the more efficient 26/28 Ghz bands, which will sharply increase 5G network infrastructure-related capex”.A senior executive of a Big 3 telco backed the view, saying access to 26/28 Ghz spectrum, on the contrary, would nearly do away with the need of incremental tower expansion costs initially for existing 4G operators planning to go 5G.“If a telco whose existing 4G deployment is on 2300/2500 Mhz bands gains access to 26 Ghz or 28 Ghz spectrum, it can leverage its existing 4G towers and avoid tower densification in the initial years of 5G deployment in key markets,” he said.Rajan Mathews, director general at Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), told ET that “it’s imperative India opts for a combination of 3.3-3.6 Ghz and the 26/28 Ghz spectrum bands akin to what South Korea, Japan and US have done to derive maximum utilisation and benefits from 5G technology, and in building an entire devices ecosystem”. The COAI represents Vodafone Idea, Airtel and Reliance Jio.Industry circles though say the government is undecided about auctioning 26/28 Ghz bands for 5G services, as these airwaves are now used for fixed satellite services (FSS). This is since there are concerns around whether 5G mobile broadband deployments and fixed satellite systems can co-exist. This is despite the Geneva-based International Telecom Union (ITU) saying they can co-exist, coupled with the fact that 28 Ghz spectrum has been recently auctioned by South Korea and the US for 5G services.In India, these millimetre wave bands are occupied by the Department of Space (DoS) as FSS systems receive signals in these bands from earth stations.

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