In a recent interview held on Thursday, the Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed that the auction procedures for the next generation or 5G airwaves and network rollouts will start in the second quarter of the next year. He said that the auction process will be given a thumbs-up as soon as the sector regulator decides on the parameters necessary following the consultative process.
TRAI Has Already Commenced Consultation Process
Ashwini Vaishnaw in a TV interview went ahead to say that trials and tests will commence in the upcoming months as 5G is progressing fast in the country. He also informed that TRAI has issued a consultation process. As soon as the consultation process is completed and the parameters for the auction process are decided upon, then the auction and rollout of the service will begin instantaneously in the second quarter of 2022.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) has kick-started a consultation process that will focus on finalizing the base price across the 10 frequency bands which will aid in the commercial launch of 5G services in India. TRAI has also asked the stakeholders for their views by December 28 and counter views by January 11. The regulator has asked for opinions regarding issues pertaining to the sale of upcoming airwaves such as the reserve price, band plan, block size, quantum of the spectrum, and related conditions.
Ashwini Vaishnaw further added that with the introduction of 5G services in the country the network speed, data quality, as well as download and upload speed in the country, will witness a significant enhancement. He said that the goal of launching 5G service based in India is to eradicate foreign dependence and shared the vision of the Prime Minister that India can provide these services to other countries as well.
Is 5Gi Ready to Compete at Global Scale?
Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC) which comes under the telecom department has already commenced the evaluation of 5Gi for commercial use which is India’s own standard for 5G services. The telecom giant Vodafone Idea or Vi has already said that the company is excited to begin 5Gi trials once it is ready with the compatible equipment. However, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has been opposing 5Gi citing the incompatibility of self-standardized 5G service on a global scale. COAI has said that the country lacks the required environment and device ecosystem.
