​5. India’s telecom industry needs the rescue

^{(Source: BCCL)}

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has made it clear that the government that no intention of lowering the prices of spectrum space for the upcoming 5G auction. But, he did suggest that the pricing structure may undergo some reforms at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2019.

India’s telecom industry has been operating in the red since Jio’s entry and the subsequent aggressive pricing strategies it employed. The burden of debt has only increased since the Supreme Court’s ruling on average gross revenue (AGR) increased the licence dues owed to the government for use of the 4G spectrum.

Despite the recent hike in tariffs, India’s telecom industry is in desperate need of revenue. One of the first use cases that experts expect are 5G enterprise solutions deployed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Keeping the 5G spectrum affordable is integral to that strategy.