Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the Silver Jubilee event celebration of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said that 5G will not only bring faster internet but will also rapidly ring in economic progress and boost jobs creation. Modi said that India’s economy would get a boost of $450 billion with 5G in the next one-and-a-half decade.
PM Modi asked the government and the industry to cooperate and collaborate to hasten the 5G rollout in the country. Further, according to Modi, the 5G launch would also benefit sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and more.
India Preparing for 6G Says, PM Modi
As per an ET Telecom report, Modi said that India is preparing for 6G while moving to 5G. He acknowledged TRAI’s efforts to ensure that India moves from 2G, 3G, and subsequent generation network technologies smoothly. The Prime Minister has called for a rapid rollout of 5G networks in the country.
According to an old letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) wants the 5G rollout to happen by August 15, 2022.
For that to happen, the spectrum auctions need to take place in a timely manner, and then DoT must allocate the airwaves to the operators as soon as possible so they can launch 5G services. There are some concerns around 5G that India still needs to address.
A final call on the spectrum pricing is likely going to come this week from the Cabinet. Things such as reserve price, duration (20 years or 30 years), and more will be addressed by the Cabinet. As soon as the final decisions from the Cabinet arrive, the DoT will move to release notice inviting applications (NIA) for the spectrum auctions.
If things happen in a timely manner, India could hold spectrum auctions by July 2022, at the earliest. This still poses a question if the telcos are able to launch 5G services by August 2022 in India.
