India’s 5G rollout stands out globally in bridging coverage gap: GSMA
Almost 750 million additional people were covered by 5G in 2023 and more than half of that was due to rollouts by operators in India alone, a new GSMA report said on Wednesday.
With an aim to discuss the roadmap of the upcoming 5G trials, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) held a meeting with the telecom operators and equipment vendors. As per the reports, the trials are likely to begin from next month.
The meeting held on Tuesday was headed by Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash. The meeting also attended by Chinese technology major Huawei, smartphone maker that also has been permitted to take part in the trials.
On Monday, the Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the government would give 5G spectrum to all market players.
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Keeping in view the government’s perspective, the DoT will let all the telecom service providers participate in the trials. These providers can pick suitable partner vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Huawei.
The in-principle nod for the trial run, however, does not assure approval for commercial rollout.
Earlier in December, the department had given its nod over the prices for the next-gen spectrum auction which will put on offer around 6050 MHz of airwaves specifically for 5G.
In the same month, the Digital Communication Commission (DCC), the highest policy making body of the Telecom Ministry, approved the spectrum auctions to be held in March-April. It did not allow any change in the reserve pricing of the radiowaves decided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
This is the first time when the 5G spectrum will be put on sale.
(With input from agencies)
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