Centre to conduct 5G auction this year, panel working on pricing

Planning to start from June

The Centre said it stands firm on its proposal of conducting spectrum auction in 2019, and will start planning for it from June. 

This comes at a time when telecom majors — Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — have expressed their reservations over participation as the two incumbents are in a financial stress.

“Notice inviting applications (NIA) documents are in place and after June, we will start planning for 5G auctions,” Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of India’s first indigenous semiconductor chips by Signalchip in Delhi.

The notice inviting applications is a legal