Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 1: 5G mobile services would be available within 2022-23, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
She said that the government will conduct a spectrum auction this year, which will facilitate the roll-out of 5G services by private telecom operators during the financial year 2022-23.
“Spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022 to facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private telecom providers,” Sitharaman said.
She believes that the telecommunications industry, in general, and 5G in particular, can help to drive growth and create jobs.
“A scheme for design-led manufacturing will be launched to build a strong ecosystem for 5G as part of the production-linked incentive scheme,” she said.
She stated that 5% of annual collections from the universal service obligation budget will be earmarked to enable affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural and isolated locations.
“This will promote R&D and commercialisation of technologies and solutions. Our mission is that all villages and their residents should have the same access to e-services, communication facilities and digital resources as urban areas and their residents,” the FM said
She went on to say that in 2022-23, the BharatNet initiative will award the contract for laying optical fibre in all villages, including distant ones, through a public-private partnership (PPP).
According to reports, 5G services would be offered in key cities including as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad first, according to reports.
All of the major telecom operators, including Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vi, are conducting trials for their 5G networks.
After the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India presents its recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications, the 5G spectrum auction will take place.
