The second largest telecommunications market in the world, India, is planning to roll out 5G mobile services within 2022-23. The Indian Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw spoke to The Hindu newspaper and said that the auction of 5G spectrums in India were on track, despite telecom operators and their lobbying groups raising concerns about high prices.
The telecom minister said that he believed that the 5G service rollout should happen in the month of August or September. Telecom companies had reported saying that they would need six months after the auction of the 5G spectrum to roll out 5G services. But reports also suggest that the companies were given extended time up to May 2022 to test their 5G networks. Hence, it has been speculated that it could be possible for them to fast-track the commercial rollout of 5G. Jio, in the past, had also beta-tested its 4G-only network and similarly, telecom companies could also roll out 5G services in a limited manner before the wider commercial rollout.
Indian Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, had announced that the 5G mobile services would be rolled out within 2022-23. She had said, “All leading telecom companies, including Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vi are testing their 5G networks under different trials. The government is also discussing with telcos and other stakeholders on the spectrum auctions that will be undertaken this year.”
India might also seek to explore collaboration with Australia and Japan as it side-stepped association with any Chinese company over privacy and security concerns.
Telecom Sector watchdog, TRAI, had detailed its plan to put on auction around Rs.7.5 lakh crore worth airwaves across multiple bands.
The TRAI in this mega auction has planned to put on auction spectrum bands – all available spectrum in existing bands viz. 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and new spectrum bands viz. 600 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz.
Reports suggest that India currently, has 1.16 billion telecom subscribers including mobile and fixed telephones. The overall teledensity in India was 85.19 percent at the end of January 2022.
5G technology is set to mark an evolutionary jump in terms of connectivity speed, utility and business use cases. The new technology has advantages of massive connectivity, low power consumption and boasts of download speeds and capacity that can enable autonomous vehicles, drones, remotely assisted surgeries and traffic control.
India is looking to increase its fiber network to 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) by 2022 from 1.5 million kilometers right now. The global services market for 5G technology in 2021 was estimated to be $83.24 billion. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23% to reach $188 billion by the year 2025.
News reports suggest that spectrum auctions would be conducted very soon and the next generation 5G services are expected to commence before the end of 2022. Replying to a supplementary question during Question Hour, the Indian Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said that the four companies have been allotted spectrum for conducting trials and added that the trials are expected to be completed soon.
According to India Brand Equity Foundation, India’s 5G subscriptions to have 350 million by 2026. It has also been speculated that over the next five years, rise in mobile-phone penetration and decline in data costs will add 500 million new Internet users in India, creating opportunities for new businesses.
