Reliance Jio, which was the top spender at this year’s 5G spectrum auctions bidding an amount of more than Rs 88,000 crore, said in August that it will roll out high-speed mobile internet services on its 5G network by Diwali in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is officially launching the 5G services in India on October 1 during the inauguration of 6th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC-2022).The event which is jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from October 01 to October 04, 2022.
The PMO said, “5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communications. It will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.”
It will bring together thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and government officials to discuss and showcase unique opportunities emerging from the rapid adoption and spread of digital technology, according to the PMO statement.
The commercial rollout of 5G by mobile operators is planned to be commenced after that. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have announced plans to start 5G.
The four day event will also be attended by leading business tycoons of India including Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Kumar Mangalam Birla. It is expected that the business tycoons will talk about the roadmap for the coming years.
In a statement the Ministry of Communications said, “ 5G can unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits giving it the potential for being a transformational force for Indian society. It will help the country leapfrog the traditional barriers to development, spur innovations by startups and business enterprises as well as advance the ‘Digital India’ vision. The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is expected to reach $450 Billion by 2035.”
As per an official statement, the launch of 5G services follows years of intense preparation. Recently, 5G spectrum auction was conducted successfully through which 51,236 MHz airwaves were allocated to telcos and the government garnered a gross revenue of Rs 1,50,173 crore. The auction aggregated the demand for a robust 5G ecosystem that can cater to its use cases involving IoT, M2M, AI, Edge Computing, Robotics etc.