OTF Exclusive Pan India 2023 Spectrum holding chart

[saketk11]

Article and Chart updated with the latest spectrum band configurations recommended by TRAI. The actual values may change depending on DoT's final decision and will be updated when the NIA for the 5G auction is released in a month.

provide change log for easy comparision

 

[Esmail]

provide change log for easy comparision

600 MHz band changed from n71 to APT 600 with total bandwidth increased from 35 to 40 MHz. n258 and n257 combined into one common bandwidth, operators can choose which band they want to deploy. n78 and n77 can be used interchangeably as per the operators discretion.
Spectrum caps will be updated after the NIA is released.

 

[saketk11]

600 MHz band changed from n71 to APT 600 with total bandwidth increased from 35 to 40 MHz. n258 and n257 combined into one common bandwidth, operators can choose which band they want to deploy. n78 and n77 can be used interchangeably as per the operators discretion.
Spectrum caps will be updated after the NIA is released.

this 2022 aution will be most interesting will create history for decades.

funnily all operator, 3+1 will get all wishful spectrum at base price with handful of quantity,

i expect jio will grab pan india 5g spectrum (combination of n257/257 +n77/78)
and vi may grab 4g spectrum available at cheaper rate to deploy 5g nsa in 5-10 circles

 

[TheAndroidFreak]

jio will grab pan india 5g spectrum (combination of n257/257 +n77/78)

Jio won't buy mmWave spectrum. n77/n78 is same so I expect 100Mhz will be bought by them and will be deployed(Max 150Mhz,if Airtel also bids for n78) only in stations and stadiums and business parks. I doubt it will be deployed in rural areas. Same with mmWave. Jio can go for 1500Mhz to keep difference between them and Airtel. Even S22 Ultra doesn't support it. So what's the use of Jio buying it with no user there to use. If Jio still keeps speed caps of 104Mbps,then what's the use of mmWave spectrum.



Lastly, for Vi, there isn't much spectrum remaining. They should focus on topping up spectrum in top priority circles(Like Maharashtra, Mumbai, Gujarat), like they can make 20Mhz in band 8/3/1 and 40Mhz in band 41. They can do this in Mumbai and Maharashtra and deploy 5G on n41 and rest on 4G. 1-3-8-n41 can give more than 300Mbps.

 

[TheAndroidFreak]

this 2022 aution will be most interesting will create history for decades.

funnily all operator, 3+1 will get all wishful spectrum at base price with handful of quantity,

i expect jio will grab pan india 5g spectrum (combination of n257/257 +n77/78)
and vi may grab 4g spectrum available at cheaper rate to deploy 5g nsa in 5-10 circles

That 1 is close to dead. That might be sold to Adani at later date and merge with Vi as 1/8/41 is common.

 

[TheAndroidFreak]

APT 600

No phone supports it till now. Not even N71. Will it have buyers?

 

[TheAndroidFreak]

600 MHz band changed from n71 to APT 600 with total bandwidth increased from 35 to 40 MHz.

It's 80Mhz in 600Mhz or just 40Mhz? Last year in September, 80Mhz was released for mobile services. Why 40Mhz now?

 

[Esmail]

No phone supports it till now. Not even N71. Will it have buyers?

Can't expect a phone to support it till it becomes a band formally, APT 600 is not a band it's a place holder till it becomes a formal band, most probably ITU will name it as n72 since that's available, hasn't been defined yet. And once the band is formalised and operators buy it, the device ecosystem will also develop. It's not just limited to India it will be standardised for entire ITU region 3, which includes all of India, Chinna, South East Asian countries like Singapore Malaysia Thailand Indonesia and all of Australia and Oceania. So don't worry the device ecosystem will develop. If you remember when Jio decided to go for Band 5 LTE there were hardly any devices supporting it, but as soon as they bought it, the devices started to flow in from all manufacturers.

 

[Esmail]

It's 80Mhz in 600Mhz or just 40Mhz? Last year in September, 80Mhz was released for mobile services. Why 40Mhz now?

80 MHz but in FDD configuration so it's paired Spectrum, 40 MHz for downlink and 40 MHz for uplink. For FDD bands we refer to only the downlink spectrum unlike TDD bands where we refer to the entire bandwidth.

 

[Esmail]

Max 150Mhz,if Airtel also bids for n78

The Spectrum cap for n78/n77 is 148 MHz so 150 MHz can't be held by any single operator.

Jio won't buy mmWave spectrum. Even S22 Ultra doesn't support it. So what's the use of Jio buying it with no user there to use.

Millimetre wave spectrum will be used by telecom operators for catering to the enterprise segment to set up Captive Wireless Private Networks (CWPNs) in the B2B model in a limited commercial complex area and not for the end user devices in B2C model, since the number of towers required for achieving blanket 5G coverage across a city (leave alone an entire circle) using such high frequency spectrum will make it unviable at least in the early years.
So the lack of end user devices supporting mm band spectrum isn't a deterrent for telcos to bid for this spectrum, but yes if DoT accepts TRAI's recommendation of administratively alloting mm wave spectrum to private companies directly for setting up the CWPNs in a limited geographic area within a city, bypassing the telcos, then they may see no commercial use case in bidding for the spectrum at a circle level in the Auction.