Telecom spectrum in 6-Ghz band key to avoid 5G radio wave crunch, says COAI

New Delhi: Non-allocation of telecom spectrum in 6-Ghz band could lead to a radio wave crunch for high-speed 5G services, a key growth driver for the country’s digital economy and development of emerging technologies specially artificial intelligence, industry body COAI said on Tuesday.

India needs an additional 2 giga hertz of mid-band spectrum to meet the international standard of ‘IMT-2020’ user experience to ensure data rates of 100 mbps on downlink and 50 mbps on uplink in densely-populated cities, COAI Director General S P Kochhar said, citing global telecom industry GSMA.

“While the government is considering vacating the spectrum in C-band, i.e., 3,670-4,000 MHz for 5G/6G use, it may not be enough to reach the required 2 GHz spectrum for IMT (5G/6G) in mid-band. Therefore, we want to stress on the fact that it is essential that the most optimal allocation of the 1,200 MHz available in the 6 GHz band is done for mobile communications in India, to get this critical 2 GHz of spectrum in mid-band,” Kochhar said.

Wifi service providers have been demanding de-licensing of spectrum in 6 Ghz, which will make the wave useful for providing internet services.