The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are at odds over giving Indian Railways a larger share of the 700 MHz spectrum.
The Indian Railways’ in-house radio-based train collision avoidance system (TCAS), also referred to as Kavach, requires this spectrum for safety and security reasons.
DoT and Trai Clash Over 700 MHz Spectrum Allocation to Indian Railways
DoT notified Trai on June 16 that any further 5 MHz allotment in the 700 MHz band would only be taken into consideration following Indian Railways’ use of the 5 MHz that had already been allotted.
On December 20, 2024, Trai had previously suggested that Indian Railways be given an extra 5 MHz for these safety-related uses.
In a response dated July 4, Trai objected to DoT’s stance and said, “It is imperative that an additional 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 700 MHz band is assigned to the Indian Railways forthwith so that they can plan, design and implement an optimised communication network for meeting the bandwidth requirements of their safety and security applications in a timely manner.”
The appropriate price for Indian Railways to pay for the spectrum is another area of disagreement.
Instead of employing its previous formula-based approach, which would be less expensive for Indian Railways, DoT wishes to use the auction-determined price (ADP).
In 5G spectrum auctions, the market price is known as the ADP. For commercial use, this came to ₹3,927 crore per MHz for the 700 MHz band.
DoT stated, “In order to harmonise all such administrative assignment of spectrum in the IMT bands, the department is of the view that it may be appropriate to adopt the spectrum charging methodology of upfront payment of the ADP mechanism for all administrative assignment of spectrum in the IMT bands, henceforth on prospective basis.”
Indian Railways has not yet paid any spectrum charges for the 5 MHz that it has already been allotted, the DoT added.
According to DoT, implementing the ADP payment mechanism will guarantee effective spectrum utilization, stop hoarding, and lessen phased assignment accounting issues.
Additionally, it stated that the 5 MHz that Indian Railways currently has allotted would be subject to this ADP-based fee going forward.
TRAI’s Reponse
Trai disagreed, arguing, “Considering the critical role played by Indian Railways and NCRTC in serving public and national interests, it would not be appropriate to levy spectrum charges for these entities based on ADP that reflects the value placed on the spectrum by entities intending to use it for commercial use.”
Trai pointed out that ADP is an inappropriate pricing model because the spectrum utilized by Indian Railways and NCRTC does not produce commercial revenue like internet or voice services.
Trai emphasized that other national security-related ministries, like defense and space, are paid according to a formula prescribed by the DoT rather than ADP.
It was underlined that Indian Railways and NCRTC shouldn’t be charged using ADP either, as they are also concerned with safety and security.
The 700 MHz spectrum band is 45 MHz in total size.
The Ministry of Defense has been given 10 MHz, Indian Railways has been given 5 MHz, the NCRTC has been given 5 MHz, and BSNL has been given 10 MHz.
Jio paid ₹40,000 crore to purchase 10 MHz of the 700 MHz band in the 2022 auctions.
Indian Railways is looking to use the remaining 5 MHz for other purposes.
Because of its superior indoor signal penetration and broader coverage, the 700 MHz band is regarded as premium for 5G services.
