Prime Minister Narendra Modi today officially launched the 5G network in India during the current Indian Mobile Conference, also known as IMC 2022. This is the opening day of the festival, which will go on till October 4. The official announcement comes after the recent conclusion of 5G spectrum auctions in the country, with Jio bagging the majority of the spectrum.
5G will be available across India by 2023
5G Launched in India: In India, 5G will roll out first in several major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. It should be available across India by 2023. Mukesh Ambani, CEO of Jio, has confirmed that 5G will be available in every “taluka” by December 2023. Available in the city after Diwali at the end of this month.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani says Jio will launch 5G telephony services across India by December 2023
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 1, 2022
Ambani also said at the IMC 2022 event that India will have the cheapest 5G. Narendra Modi also showcased Jio’s True 5G device.
On the other hand, Airtel has already mentioned that Airtel 5G will also be launched this month. 5G is expected to be introduced in eight cities and will appear in most major cities by March 2023. Airtel 5G will be available across India by 2024. Airtel has already confirmed that a dedicated 5G SIM card is not required to use the service. We expect similar behavior from other telecoms.
For those unfamiliar, expect 5G networks to be significantly faster than 4G and potentially download speeds of up to 20 GB per second. Reported to download 1 GB files in less than 1 second. For more information on 5G, see our in-depth article What is 5G? It is believed to transform areas such as AI, IoT, and blockchain. It will also be useful for connected automotive, e-health, and other applications.
During the auction, Jio received 26,772 MHz spectrum, Bharti Airtel received 19,867 MHz spectrum and Vi received 2,668 MHz spectrum.
We will keep you updated on all the developments regarding the 5G rollout in India. Until then, read our articles on 5G bands in India, how to test them, and more to prepare for 5G!