Cabinet clears 5G auction, setting up of captive networks by enterprises

The payment for spectrum can be made annually through 20 equal instalments (to be paid in the beginning of each year), keeping in mind telcos' cash flow issues

The Union Cabinet has cleared 5G spectrum auction, while retaining the reserve price that was recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in April and accepted by the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) subsequently. Even as telecom firms had sought a 90 per cent reduction in spectrum reserve prices from the level set by the regulator in 2018, Trai lowered it by only around 36 per cent in a review two months ago. The Cabinet nod implies that bidding for 5G, along with some other spectrum bands, could start by end of July.   

In an upset for telcos, the