5G services launch "very soon", govt aims for pan-India coverage in 2 years: Ashwini Vaishnaw

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5G telecom services in India will be launched very soon and the government's target will be to cover the entire country within 2 years, said Union Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at an event on Sunday.

India is gearing up for the rollout of 5G services by October, the minister had earlier said.

The government in mid-August issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services.

With this spectrum allotment, India is in the final stage of rolling out high-speed 5G telecom services.

Reliance Jio has already announced it will launch high-speed 5G telecom services by Diwali this year in multiple key cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Subsequently, it intends to expand its 5G network to each and every town, tehsil and talukas across the country by December of 2023, which is nearly 18 months from now.

What is 5G, and how is it different from the current 3G and 4G services?

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network capable of transmitting a large set of data at a very rapid speed.

In comparison to 3G and 4G, 5G has a very low latency which will enhance user experiences in various sectors. Low latency describes the efficiency to process a very high volume of data messages with a minimal delay.

The 5G rollout is also expected to bring more development in remote data monitoring in sectors such as mining, warehousing, telemedicine, and manufacturing, among others.

Who were the participants in the auction?

Reliance Jio, Adani group, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are the four major participants in the spectrum auction.

How much revenue did the government make from the auction?

- Department of Telecom received total bids worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore from the recently concluded auction.- Revenue from the auctions was initially estimated to be Rs 80,000-90,000 crore.

Speed:- 5G services are expected to be about 10 times faster than 4G.

Rollout:- High-speed 5G telecom services are expected to be offered in several cities in the county by the end of the year 2022.

Adani Group forays into the telecom sector:- This is the first time that the Gautam Adani-led Adani group, which recently forayed into the telecom sector, participated in the bidding process of the 5G telecom spectrum auction.

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