COAI has said that the recently announced reforms in the telecom sector, by the govt, go a long way in providing cashflow relief to the sector.
The reforms also provide the players with enough liquidity to be able to bid for the 5G spectrum auction. The govt wants its to be a success, and is willing to relook at the spectrum prices too, to make them affordable for the players.
The current eco system for 5G is well developed – but the use cases are very few. Hence 5G rollout will only be a gradual one, not a pan India in one go. TSPs will first look at urban pockets to roll out their 5G network, and then gradually move towards rural areas. Over this period, they will also have to decide whether to migrate the existing 2G/3G customer base directly to 5G, or stepwise first to 4G and then 5G.
Use of Open RAN technology and the PLI schemes by the govt should help bring the cost of 5G equipment down in the country, and lower the 5G capex requirement. In any case, 5G capex (excl spectrum purchase) is expected to be significantly lower than 4G rollout.
