5G services will roll out in India on October 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the rollout of 5G services at the Indian Mobile Congress. The 5G spectrum auction was over earlier this year where telecom operators spent about Rs 1.5 lakh crore to purchase 71 per cent of the total spectrum available. Telecom operators, such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have confirmed to roll out 5G services in India soon.
It is initially expected that 5G network will roll out around October 15. Telecom operators are yet to officially announce the exact date on when they plan to roll out the next-generation network services.
5G Services India Rollout Date
The National Broadband Mission confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will roll out 5G services in the country on October 1. PM Modi will inaugurate the services at the India Mobile Congress, which kicks off on October 1. “Taking India’s digital transformation & connectivity to new heights, Hon’ble PM, @narendramodi, will roll out 5G services in India; at India Mobile Congress; Asia’s largest technology exhibition,” the National Broadband Mission tweeted.
The first phase of 5G networks will be rolled out in limited cities. The 22 cities include Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, etc. Telcos have promised to make their next-generation network available in more cities and rural areas as soon as possible.
Reliance previously revealed that it has completed 5G coverage rollout planning in the top 1,000 cities in India. The telco was the highest bidder and bought spectrum worth over Rs 88,000 crore. The Ambani family-owned telco bought 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz and 26GHz bands.
Airtel also promises to roll out 5G services soon in India. The company is expected to roll out 5G networks in India in early October. The initial rollout will include only metros and tier 1 cities. Airtel stated that it will provide PAN India 5G network by the end of 2023. The Sunil Mittal-led telco bought spectrum worth Rs 43,084 crores.
Vodafone-Idea (Vi) was the third highest bidder and bought spectrum worth over Rs 18,000.
