The government has revealed that the 5G network is now in its final stages of development, indicating that the 5G rollout in India appears to be on track. Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement while speaking at the "India Telecom 2022" business expo earlier today. The minister also emphasised the importance of the country involvement in the development of 6G standards.
"The country has also created its own 4G core and radio network." In addition, the 5G network is nearing completion. "The country is currently participating in the development of 6G standards, in the 6G thought process," Vaishnaw said.
This news comes just days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced at this year Union Budget session that the necessary spectrum auctions would be held in the coming months to facilitate telecom operators' rollout of 5G services in 2022.
She also stated that the government intends to launch a design-led manufacturing scheme as part of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which will aid in the development of a stronger ecosystem for 5G.
The country technology minister told CNBC that the country's 5G rollout will take place by the end of this year, as the spectrum auction process will take place by August and services will be rolled out later. According to the cited source, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is already in talks with the telecommunications industry about the rollout of 5G, and a report on the subject is expected in March.
"By the end of March, we would have everything needed for the auction process." "We anticipate that the auction process will be completed by July or August," said the technology minister.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) confirmed in 2021 that some major Indian cities will have 5G networks by the end of 2022. Only 13 metro cities in India will get 5G services for the first time this year. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, and Gandhinagar are among them.
Because the 5G trials were initially conducted in these locations, residents of these areas will be the first to receive 5G. So, if you live in one of the cities listed above, you can rejoice. 5G is expected to provide faster internet speeds, lower latency, and increased data network capacity.
While details on 5G prices are still scarce, a Counterpoint Research analyst told India Today that given recent tariff hikes and operators aiming for an ARPU of Rs 300 per month, the prices of the latest network may not be lower than 4G. "They are expected to be comparable to 4G prices in order to entice more subscribers and encourage upgrades. However, once the network has wide coverage and established data speeds, operators will eventually add a premium "According to Charu Paliwal.