PM Modi to roll out 5G services in India on Oct 1; 13 cities to benefit in 1st phase

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will roll out fifth-generation (5G) telecom services in India on October 1. According to an official announcement by the National Broadband Mission, the services will be launched at the India Mobile Congress (IMC), India's largest technology exhibition, in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan. 

PM Modi's introduction of 5G comes after the completion of 5G spectrum bids this Monday which saw four companies-- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Networks Limited-- shell out a total of Rs 1.5 lakh crores. Notably, around 13 cities across the country will receive 5G services in the first phase, PTI reported. 

5G in India

According to Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, 51.2 GHz out of 72 GHz of the spectrum has been sold out in 40 rounds of bidding wherein the companies poured in Rs 1,50,173 crore. Out of the four companies, Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest spender as it acquired 24.7 GHz of the spectrum, including the premium 700 MHz band, for Rs 88,000 crore.

Bharti Airtel emerged as the second highest bidder by spending Rs 43,084 crore for 19.8 GHz of the airwaves followed by Vodafone Idea which shelled out Rs 18,799 crore for 6.2 GHz of the spectrum. Adani Data Networks Limited was the lowest spender as it acquired just 400 MHz for Rs 212 crore. 

Scope of 5G services in India

During his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, PM Modi said that the facility of optical fibre is being provided across the country to connect even the smallest village in the rural areas. During an event last week, IT Minister Vaishnav said that many countries took multiple years to reach 40-50% coverage, however, the Central government has set an aggressive timeline to provide 80% coverage in a much smaller time frame. He had also said that the government would invest around $30 billion to expand 4G and 5G services across India. 

According to a recent GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) report, the share of 2G and 3G services in India will reduce to around 10% by 2030 whereas 5G services will account for one-third of the connections. The report further predicted that the manufacturing sector, retail, and agriculture will get 20%, 12% and 11% of the total benefit estimated due to 5G. What's more, is that the Indian economy is expected to rake in $455 billion between 2023 and 2040 due to 5G.