5G services rollout is expected to begin in August

17 Jun 2022 , 02:14 PM

After the auctions are completed in July, the deployment of 5G services in India is expected to begin in August, according to Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman, who spoke at an industry event on Thursday (16-06-2022).

“The government has announced 5G spectrum auctions, and the deployment is slated to begin in August of this year,” he stated.

The Union Cabinet authorized the auction of airwaves capable of providing fifth-generation or 5G telecom services at reserve prices suggested by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday (15-06-2022). The government has also given its approval for the establishment of private captive 5G networks.

The auction for a spectrum in excess of 72 GHz will begin on July 26. Rajaraman’s comment follows Union Minister of Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw’s announcement on Thursday that India will have a fully functional 5G network by March 2023.

“India has its own 4G infrastructure, including radios, equipment, and handsets. In March 2023, 4G will be ready for deployment in the field, while 5G will be ready in the lab “In an interview with ANI, Vaishnav said.

Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) will employ the mid and high band spectrum to roll out 5G technology-based services that will give roughly ten times the speed and capacity of existing 4G services, according to a statement from the Communications Ministry.

Despite complaints from telecom companies who do not want spectrum supplied to private corporations for captive networks, the 5G deployment has been announced. TSPs should keep the spectrum, according to the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).

The Department of Transportation, on the other hand, preferred to sell 5G spectrum to private companies for use in captive networks on corporate campuses, such as factories, hotels, and colleges.

Captive networks are isolated networks in which businesses are given a spectrum to use inside a certain geographic area. As a result, it’s also known as a spectrum for localized or limited applications.

In a letter to Vaishnaw, COAI stated that if captive private wireless networks are allowed, there is “no commercial justification for the development of 5G networks.”

The Cabinet, on the other hand, allowed businesses to build captive private networks with direct spectrum allotment from the Department of Transportation. It has also made it possible for businesses to lease spectrum from service providers in order to operate a network.