The government said it expected that 5G technology will reach every part of India in the next two to three years
India’s telecommunications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that local mobile operators are expected to launch 5G services on October 12, according to local press reports.
“We are planning to roll out 5G services rapidly. Telecom operators are working in that regard and installations are being done. Hopefully, we should be launching 5G services by October 12 and then would further scale up in cities and towns [across India],” Vaishnaw reportedly said.
The minister also said that he is expecting 5G technology to reach every part of the country in the next two to three years. “We’ll ensure that [5G services] remain affordable. The industry is focusing on both urban as well as rural areas,” he said.
The much-awaited 5G spectrum auction in India concluded on August 1 and according to Vaishnaw, local carriers purchased a total $19 billion worth of spectrum.
Reliance Jio walked away with the most spectrum, having spent $11 billion. Airtel won spectrum worth $5.4 billion, while Vodafone received spectrum worth $2.4 billion. Finally, Adani purchased spectrum worth approximately $27 million, which it will use to offer private 5G network services.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently officially allocated spectrum to telecom operators, with the issuance of a spectrum assignment letter for 5G networks.
Vaishnaw has also requested that telecom service providers prepare for the launch of 5G across India.
“Spectrum assignment letter issued. Requesting TSPs [telecom services providers] to prepare for 5G launch,” Vaishnaw wrote in a tweet.
According to Indian press reports, some of the cities that will initially have 5G services are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.
Earlier this month, the DoT formed an internal group with the aim of developing a plan to include the 37.0-42.5 GHz range as international mobile telecommunications (IMT) bands, which would allow local carrier to utilize this spectrum. Through the potential future award of this spectrum, local carriers will be able to offer 5G fixed wireless access services across India.
Through this process, the Indian government aims to unlock and sell a total of 5,500 megahertz of spectrum.
Once the DoT submits its proposal for the 37.0–42.5 GHz band, a committee will formally declare the band as IMT, paving the way for the sale of the frequencies.
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