According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways, telecom operators have expanded 5G services to 50 towns across the country since its launch on October 1, 2022. He said that the rollout of 5G networks is in its initial phase. However, no feedback or complaints have been received or reported by telecom service providers (TSPs) for any difficulties faced by 5G users wherever the 5G network is available.
The minister added that in order to facilitate rollout of telecom network, including 5G, and expansion of telecom infrastructure, the government has taken various policy initiatives such as making sufficient spectrum available for mobile services through auction, allowed spectrum sharing and trading, removal of additional spectrum usage change (SUC) of 0.5 per cent for spectrum sharing.
With regard to the expansion of 5G across the country, Vaishnaw said that the minimum rollout obligations are required to be met over a period of five years in a phased manner from the date of allocation of 5G spectrum. Further, expansion of mobile network beyond the mandatory rollout obligations depends on the techno-commercial consideration of the TSPs.
Further, the minister noted that telcos have reported that they are presently providing 5G services to their subscribers with 5G-enabled devices at no extra cost.
