DoT Clears Path For Backhaul Of Towers Before 5G Network Rollout

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday announced it would allot a maximum of two carriers of 250 MHz each in the E band (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) to telecom firms for backhaul of towers, or connection between cell towers -- a move that would remove a major impediment and speed up the roll out of 5G networks in the country.

The assignment of the much-needed E band spectrum was stuck despite applications from telcos because the government was yet to decide whether it would be auctioned just like access spectrum or given bundled with access spectrum or offered at an administrative price as demanded by Broadband India Forum for use in public Wi-Fi.

The regulator earlier had recommended that E band spectrum should be given at an administered price. But telcos opposed it, saying that the band should be auctioned to maintain a level playing field. However, the Union Cabinet, which cleared 5G spectrum auction, allowed the assignment of the backhaul spectrum provisionally.

The government will charge a nominal 0.15 per cent of adjusted gross revenue to telecom service providers for each E band carrier in the interim period (this should cost telcos Rs 313 crore based on their 2021 AGR). The charges shall be adjusted retrospectively, from the date of provisional assignment, based on the final decision on the pricing mechanism. No interest shall be paid on the shortfall amount, if any after the adjustment.

With the rollout of 5G, the number of telecom towers, according to estimates by the industry, would go up from 723,000 currently to over 1 million.

However, only 34 per cent of the existing towers in the country have a fiber backhaul; the rest of the towers are on microwave, powered by traditional spectrum bands with limited bandwidth but high coverage. But 5G, which enables very high internet speeds and low latency, cannot be powered on these bands; it would need either fiber or spectrum in the E band, which offers large bandwidth but limited coverage.

Though fiber works the best, its proliferation has been stymied because of “right of way” issues across states and cities. It is also relatively expensive to put fiber under the ground and the process is also time-consuming. E band should resolve both these issues.

According to analysts, the DoT’s decision shall benefit Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which have fewer towers with fiber-backed connections. While Reliance Jio, according to estimates, has over 60 per cent of their towers with a fiber backbone, for its rivals, the figure ranges between 25 per cent and 35 per cent.

Tower infrastructure & e band

• Over 730,000 towers in India but only 34% have fibre backhaul
• Microwave backhaul cannot power 5G services, which will require fibre or E band spectrum, which offers huge bandwidth
• To roll out 5G pan-Indian, the number of towers required will need to increase by another 300,000 or more

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