India is 5G ready! Date of roll out announced, know which areas will get it first

By the end of this year, India is expected to join the select club of countries like the US, Canada, the UK and many European Union nations where 5G technology has already been launched, an IANS report said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the Communications Ministry, in a detailed note submitted to a parliamentary committee recently, held that "the specific time frame" for the rolling out of 5G technology in India is "by the end of 2021".

The DoT Secretary`s note, accessed by IANS, told the committee that the 5G technology will be "rolled out not on a pan-India basis but in select areas first where the demand would justify the capex". In simple words, the technology will be rolled out in those selected areas which will be able to justify the capital expenditure incurred by the entity concerned on the 5G spectrum.

The government also clarified that "the 5G technology will initially ride on the 4G technology". "It is not that one fine day 5G will come and replace all 4G. That is not so. The government noted that different countries will adopt different parts of the features and what is more likely is that in the initial years, the core and radio access network will have equal distribution of 4G and 5G technology. "The core will be of 4G and the radio access network will be 5G."

The official further clarified that the 5G roll out plan is based on a study which the government has undertaken.  In parallel, various companies would be benefiting using 5G and would be making their investments, as well as deciding the areas for the rollout, the committee was told. The 5G trial applications were submitted by the TSPs in the month of January last year. However, till date, the guidelines for their trials have not been made clear and there is no set date for their commencement.