Niti Aayog Special Secretary Yaduvendra Mathur has said that telecom operators should be financially sound to build up infrastructure. He also highlighted a need to review the auction architecture as they cannot pay high prices for spectrum. He added that the government wants access to real time data in decision making which can be done by installing internet of things (IoT) devices supported by public wi-fi.
Mathur has stated that telecom players should set up public wi-fi but for that they also need to be financially healthy. He also noted that the government is working on next round of spectrum auction that will comprise radiowaves for 5G services as well. He added that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended the auction of about 8,644 MHz of frequencies across eight signal bands, including in 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 3.3-3.4 gigahertz (Ghz), 3.4-3.6 Ghz etc, at an estimated base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore.
Mathur said 'I think it is a broader issue which is being looked at on how to maximise utilisation rather than only look at through revenue perspective. Growth is the message that we have from the top.' He noted the government keeps pushing for use of state-of-art technology in the government and those who do not use such technology are required to give an explanation.