New Delhi, Aug 11
Direct Spectrum allocation to enterprises is not tenable in India because of various reasons pertaining to India’s telecom ecosystem, the national revenue, as well as security architecture, according to a statement on Monday.
"While some industry bodies have, in their interests, drawn parallels with countries such as the US, Finland, Germany, UK, etc. where private networks have been deployed, this comparison ignores a crucial contextual difference of such industries being located in remote or geographically secluded areas with limited public network coverage," said Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) in its statement.
According to COAI, in India, however, most industrial corridors and enterprise zones are already well-served by telecom operators, thereby leaving no coverage deficit.
It is further misleading to state that setting up private networks independently would be cheaper for enterprises, as in reality, deploying a private 5G network entails significant capital expenditure on equipment, spectrum management, security, network maintenance and skilled personnel, the statement said.