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Telecom regulator Trai on Thursday sought stakeholders' views on the auction of three new spectrum bands in higher frequency range that will make available around 4,000 megahertz radiowaves for mobile services. The regulator has sought views on pricing, allocation norms, and payment terms, among others, for spectrum in frequency bands of 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz for mobile services. This is the first time three spectrum bands in 37-37.5 Ghz, 37.5-40 Ghz and 42.5-43.5 Ghz are being proposed for the auction that will make available 4,000 Mhz spectrum for 5G services in the future. These blocks are different from the bands -- 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz -- which will be put on the block in the upcoming spectrum auctions scheduled for June 6. "The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has today released a consultation paper on 'Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT," an official release said. While the 37-37.5 GHz band is for mobile services, the other two bands 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz are for mobile and Satellite Gateway links. Trai, in the consultation paper, has sought the industry's opinion on various nuances of the auction of spectrum in these new bands, including pricing, validity, preferred block size, spectrum caps, rollout obligations, and other terms and conditions. The spectrum in new frequency bands can be utilised to provide 5G and 6G services. "These millimetre wave bands offer much higher capacity for small cell coverage and are critical for 5G and 6G services rollout for critical sectors, such as health, robotics and industry 4.0," ITU-APT Foundation of India (ITU-APT) President Bharat Bhatia said. The Department of Telecom approached Trai in August 2023 to seek its recommendation on pricing, allocation norms etc. The new set of spectrum bands was selected by the DoT after a consultation held by an internal committee with all major stakeholders, including representatives from the telecom and space sectors in 2022. The DoT committee deliberated on the allocation of a higher frequency band of 66-71 Ghz. The panel concluded there is no immediate requirement of the band for space and telecom service and therefore did not recommend its auction. Trai has asked the industry to submit written comments on the issues raised in the consultation paper by May 2, 2024, and counter-comments by May 16, 2024. "Whether the entire available spectrum in each of the frequency ranges 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz, should be put to auction for IMT...In case you are of the opinion that any of the frequency ranges viz. 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz should be put to auction at a later date, what should be the timelines for auctioning of such frequency bands for IMT," it asked. Trai also asked if spectrum in these frequency ranges should be assigned for 20 years as prevalent in the existing frequency bands, or for a shorter validity period. Other questions thrown up by Trai in the consultation paper are whether these radiowaves should be assigned for the existing Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) for access service (that is telecom circles/metros), or whether they should be assigned for smaller service areas. "Whether the value of spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz spectrum bands be derived by relating it to the auction determined price/value of spectrum in any other band by using spectral efficiency factor," it questioned. The sector regulator also sought stakeholder opinion on what should be a method of valuation of the spectrum and "should international spectrum prices that is the auction determined price/ reserve price of other countries in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5 - 40 GHz and 42.5 - 43.5 GHz spectrum bands serve as a basis for the purpose of valuation of these bands. Satellite industry body SIA-India Director General Anil Prakash said that SIA-India reaffirms the importance of reserving key satcom bands for satellite services. "These bands hold immense significance for space research, Earth Exploration Satellite, Broadcasting, Ground Stations, and Radio Navigation Satellite services. Furthermore, overzealous allocation towards IMT services from the potential Satellite bands could deter satellite services, which have a promising future with significant investments already made by the industry," Prakash said.

ET Intelligence Group: Some good news for investors who are lured by the potential of smallcap stocks to deliver hefty returns but are worried about the high risk associated with such bets. Historical data suggests that quality matters even in the case of smallcap selection. The Nifty Small Cap 250 Momentum Quality 100 index — a smallcap index where constituents are selected based on momentum and quality — has gained 25.4% annually over the past 10 years thereby outperforming the Nifty Small Cap 250 index by nearly 500 basis points. The smallcap stocks have been under pressure over the past month after the market regulator warned about the frothy valuations in the segment. During the period, the smallcap quality index was still able to beat the broader smallcap index by 77 basis points vindicating the historical trend that the market continues to reward high-quality companies. The smallcap index with a combination of momentum and quality has outperformed the Nifty 250 smallcap index in 17 out of the 19 calendar years. The smallcap quality index has been able to generate alpha in the excess of 4% on a daily rolling basis with 94% probability over the past five years; the probability increases to 100% when the time frame is seven years. The quality index trades at 4.3 times its book value compared with 3.7 times in the case of the benchmark small cap index. The Nifty small cap 250 momentum quality 100 index is composed of 100 smallcap stocks that are selected based on momentum and quality score. The momentum score is computed by computing price returns in six and twelve months adjusted for volatility while the quality score for each company is derived from return on equity, debt-equity ratio, and earnings growth variability in the past five years. The weight of each stock in the index is based on the combination of the composite momentum-quality score and its free-float market capitalisation. Among the top sectors, the financial services sector has the highest weight of 24.9% in the smallcap quality index followed by capital goods at 17.2%, and IT at 12.1%. On the stock front, KEI Industries, BSE, MCX, Apar Industries, and Birlasoft are the top five constituents of the smallcap quality index.

The National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission has dismissed the Central government's plea against Nestle India alleging indulgence in 'unfair trade practice' by selling Maggi noodles, the company said on Thursday.The Department of Consumer Affairs had filed the complaint in 2015 before the NCDRC alleging that the company indulged in unfair trade practices by manufacturing and selling hazardous and defective goods to the publicNCDRC dismissed the plea in favour of Nestle India on April 2, 2024.At the time, the government had sought compensation of Rs 285 crore and punitive damages of Rs 355.41 crore.In its 47-page complaint in the consumer court, the Centre had claimed that Nestle, in a bid to augment profit, had risked the health and well-being of millions of consumers. "To add further insult to injury, the opponent (Nestle) has deliberately misled the consumers of the quality, standard and accreditation/approval of Maggi Noodles," it had said. Nestle Maggi's case in IndiaPreceding Centre's move to file a complaint was the FSSAI action. India's food safety regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) too acted against Maggi in 2015 as it found excess levels of lead in the samples it tested. It also found no appropriate label declaration of monosodium glutamate (MSG), commonly known as ajinomoto. Some tests in India and abroad subsequently showed that the noodles were safe. Basis FSSAI action, Maggi was banned and the company took a hit of Rs 450 crore. It had to destroy over 30,000 tonnes of Maggi noodles.This was followed by Centre filing a complaint with the NDCRC.Government's move against Nestle India was the first time the Consumer Affairs Ministry dragged a company to NCDRC using a provision in the nearly four-decade-old Consumer Protection Act. NCDRC usually acts based on complaints by consumers. However, a section of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 allows the government to register a complaint.The government in its petition accused Nestle of misleading Indian consumers by claiming that Maggi was a healthy food product through its slogan 'Tasty Bhi, Healthy Bhi."However, Maggi was back in the market soon as the government authorities cleared the brand five months after it was banned.