5G allocation by Aug 12

New Delhi: Within days of conducting 5G auctions, the government has completed the spectrum 'harmonisation' process, paving the way for players' holdings to be streamlined within a particular band for greater efficiency, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The spectrum harmonisation process, critical for 5G services, brings together a bunch of radio wave holdings within a band into one contiguous block with the consensus of all telecom service providers. Vaishnaw told PTI that the government is on course for the timely allocation of radiowaves bought by players (in the auction) by August 12.

The process of approvals from the Committee of Secretaries has also been completed. "In one single day, we have completed the spectrum harmonisation process, which happens after every auction," the minister said. The harmonisation of the spectrum leads to greater efficiencies for players, as chunks of radio-wave holdings in one band are brought together or consolidated with the consensus of all players.

"The promise we made that we will allocate spectrum by August 12, we are on time," Vaishnaw said. A telecom department official, explaining the concept of spectrum harmonisation, drew a parallel with distributed land holdings with gaps being brought together into contiguous holding. India's biggest ever auction of telecom spectrum that concluded on August 1 (Monday) received a record Rs1.5 lakh crore of bids, with Mukesh Ambani's Jio cornering nearly half of all the airwaves sold with an Rs 88,078 crore bid. Richest Indian Gautam Adani's group, whose entry in the auction was billed by some as another flash point in the rivalry with Ambani, paid Rs212 crore for 400 MHz, or less than one per cent of all spectrum sold, in a band that is not used for offering public telephony services. Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum for Rs18,799 crore. Of the 72,098 MHz of spectrum offered across 10 bands, 51,236 MHz, or 71 per cent, was sold.

After every auction, the separate holdings of an individual player in a band are brought together through the harmonisation process. All the players have to be in agreement for such shifting and consolidation to take place, a process that normally takes months.

"It is a difficult process, but we have completed the harmonisation process in one single day. The team has worked very meticulously," Vaishnaw said.

Reliance Jio Infocomm has obtained 24,740 MHz spectrum in 700, 800, 1800, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz. Adani Data Networks Ltd obtained a 400 MHz spectrum in the 26 GHz band, suitable for captive networks.