Government must keep 5G spectrum fee low; faster roll out to have greater impact, says Airtel

Sunil Bharti Mittal argued that instead of devoting money on spectrum acquisitions, service providers can invest in faster roll out of the network

Telecom service operator Airtel on Thursday urged the government not to charge high fees for allotting 5G spectrum, saying a faster roll out of the next-generation telecommunication network can have more benefits than collecting revenue in upfront cost.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises which runs the country's second largest telco, said that there are a variety of applications across sectors ranging from healthcare to video interactions, which will make 5G a technology to be introduced as soon as possible.

"5G is important and that's why we keep on requesting the government to make the 5G as an enabler for hundreds of things that we develop in the country, to keep the spectrum at affordable pricing, to not load the industry too much," Mr. Mittal said at the Times Network India Economic Conclave.

Mr. Mittal argued that instead of devoting money on spectrum acquisitions, service providers can invest in faster roll out of the network, which will deliver high speed connectivity with lower latency.

"I will say the multiplier impact that a faster, high-speed, low-latency network can have for a country is many times more than what can be achieved by picking up some money upfront," he added.

In the past, telcos have complained about high reserve prices being a deterrent, and the high cost for spectrum has been called out as one of the reasons why the telecom industry has been in a poor financial position for the last few years.

About the proliferation of private and unregulated cryptocurrencies, Mr. Mittal said such instruments pose a "serious problem" and backed finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's plea at a global forum in Washington for a concerted response.