Govt to auction 5G spectrum for 20 yrs; allows private captive networks

 The government will auction a total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity of 20 years by July-end, said an official statement

The Union Cabinet has cleared the auction for 5G airwaves paving the way for auction and commercial launch of next generation telecom services this year. The cabinet in its meeting on Tuesday approved Department of Telecom’s proposal for the auction of 72 GHz of spectrum for a 20-year-period. It also decided to “enable the development and setting up of private captive networks to spur a new wave of innovations in industry 4.0 applications”.

“A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction to be held by the end of July, 2022. The auction will be held for spectrum in various bands (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), Mid (3300 MHz) and High (26 GHz) frequency bands,” the government said in a press release on Wednesday….Read More

Ex-Starlink India head now plans a white paper on broadband, poverty

 Sanjay Bhargava on Wednesday revealed that he now plans to write a white paper on how to ensure countrywide broadband access by 2023 and end poverty by 2030.

Sanjay Bhargava, who has quit as India Director for Elon Musk-run satellite internet company Starlink, on Wednesday revealed that he now plans to write a white paper on how to ensure countrywide broadband access by 2023 and end poverty by 2030. After announcing a dramatic exit as the India head of Starlink operations late on Tuesday, Bhargava posted on LinkedIn that he has always tried to give back to India by blaming no one and inspiring everyone over the last 17 years.

“As I retire, I am thinking of writing a short whitepaper on ‘Good Broadband Pan India by Dec 2023 & Ending Poverty by 2030’. Is this possible?” he wrote. “My concern is that even though my intentions are good my words will be twisted, and all kinds of motives will be ascribed even though my only motive is to provoke thinking to achieve the METRO’s (Measurable Timebound Real Outcomes) outlined in the title,” Bhargava added.

“My tentative deadline to publish (the white paper) is January 15, 2022,” he said. His resignation came after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications in December warned Starlink to get necessary permission required to offer satellite-based Internet services in India.

Reliance Jio to offer 100 GB free data, 100 Mbps speed at JioFibre launch

The company is yet to give a definite timeline for the launch of JioFibre broadband services

After shaking the telecom industry, Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio is gearing up to launch its much-awaited Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services in India.

During its network testing phase, which lasted almost 6 months, Reliance Jio had swept the market by offering free access to many of the Jio services – from 4G high-speed data, voice calls, SMS, apps. In acquiring a record 100 million subscribers during this period, Reliance Jio severely dented the revenues and user base of key rivals like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

According to a news report in India Today, Reliance Jio would follow the same process as it launches JioFibre network. Currently, the JioFibre broadband services are running under trials in 5 cities. Delhi, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Pune and Chennai are the cities where the trails are going on.

There is no specific timeline defined for the launch of JioFibre broadband services but the launch date offers along with services offered through JioFibre broadband have been reported by India Today in a news report.| read more