5G ROLLOUT LIKELY BY OCTOBER; SPECTRUM ALLOCATION SOON!

The fifth generation (5G) telecom services are likely to be launched in India by October this year as the government on Monday successfully completed the spectrum auction mopping up over Rs 1.50 lakh crore in bids by four companies including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Networks. Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the allocation of the spectrum to the successful bidders would be done by August 10 and the 5G services are likely to be launched in the country by October this year. “Auction has been completed and in the next few days, till August 10, all formalities including approving and allocating the spectrum will be done,” he added.
 

It seems we would be able to launch 5G in the country by October. The ongoing 5G spectrum auction indicates that the country’s telecom industry has come a long way in 5G advancements. Better availability of spectrum will improve the quality of telecom services in the country. “Jio’s 5G solution is made in India, by Indians and to suit the need of every Indian. Jio is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fibre presence, all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem,” Reliance Jio said.
 

The total cost of acquiring the right to use the above technology agnostic spectrum for a period of 20 years is Rs 88,078 crore. As per terms of the spectrum auction, the spectrum payments have to be made over 20 equated annual instalments, with interest computed at 7.2 per cent per annum. “Jio has acquired a unique combination of low-band, mid-band and mmWave spectrum, which coupled with our deep fibre network and indigenous technology platforms, will enable us to provide 5G Everywhere and 5G For All (consumers and enterprises),” the company said.

Through this acquisition, Jio’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly to 26,772 MHz (uplink + downlink), which is the highest in India. “5G technology is the revolution that can alter India’s manufacturing, services and several other sectors. We remain fully committed to the Government’s Digital India vision and will continue to do what is needed to ensure that India becomes a beacon for the world in terms of technology,” Vittal said.
—WITH INPUTS FROM ANI

MONI SHARMA   The writer is Editor, News at First India