5G networks are going to become more and more common as years go by. 2022 is the year when India should see its first live commercial 5G network. But the thing is, because of network rollout costs, the telcos can’t just launch 5G in every part of India. They need to launch 5G in cities where there are not just a ton of normal consumers but also enterprises and multinational companies that can help with reaching the break-even point first. Most of the cities where the 5G trials are going on will definitely receive live 5G networks in 2022.
13 Cities That Will See 5G Networks in 2022
According to an ANI report, 5G in India will arrive for these 13 cities first — Kolkata, Bangalore, Gurugram, Pune, Gandhinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Jamnagar.
Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have been conducting their 5G trials in these cities. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday confirmed that these metros and big cities would receive live commercial 5G networks first.
There wasn’t any fixed time frame given by the telecom department, but it is most likely that India will see live 5G networks in the third quarter of CY22.
Even the DoT has been working with the indigenous 5G testbed since 2018. The test is likely to complete by the end of 2021. Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman said hopefully, the first 5G test bed will be rolled out in early January, which will give the small and medium enterprises as well as other parts of different industries to come and their 5G solutions.
The 5G test bed will further put India in a strong position in terms of conducting initial research for 6G and related technologies. The Indian telecom operators, including Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, have been conducting 5G trials in different parts of the countries using the spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
