Industry body COAI on Wednesday said there is no justification for allocating radio waves directly to enterprises for operating private captive networks, and that licensed telcos are fully capable of providing all customised solutions in the most competitive and economic manner to private and public sector entities.

The comments of COAI — whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea — assume significance as telecom operators and tech companies have locked horns over the hotly-debated issue of 5G spectrum allocation and captive private networks.

Private enterprises have asserted that giving spectrum directly for creation of captive networks, without any dependency on telcos, would accelerate the digital agenda.

Refuting this stand, Cellular Operators’ Association India (COAI), in its position paper on 5G private networks, has urged the government not to reserve or de-licence any spectrum which has been identified or likely to be identified for use of mobile services, towards private captive networks.

Doing so, COAI said, would amount to “undue advantage to private commercial entities at the cost of government exchequer”.

Moreover, it would lead to arbitrariness in basic policies “discouraging investment in the networks and leading to disorderly growth of the sector by back door entry, with undue advantage, to private commercial entities at the cost of the government exchequer”.

At present, the means for operating such private network are made available from the resources of licensed telecom service providers which include spectrum acquired through a transparent auction process.

“We are of the firm opinion that notwithstanding any advancement of technologies, there is no justification whatsoever for allocating spectrum to industry verticals for operating private captive networks,” COAI said in the run-up to 5G spectrum auctions.

The auctions for 5G spectrum are slated to be held mid this year.