The National Broadband Mission (NBM) of the Ministry of Communications tweeted (and later deleted) on September 24 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch 5G services in India on October 1 — the same day as the India Mobile Congress (IMC), which will heavily focus on 5G and related domains.
All of the top telecom executives, including Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal, are scheduled to deliver keynote addresses at the sixth edition of the IMC, which will be held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from October 1-4.
The event will be attended by telecom equipment manufacturers and other industry stakeholders, as well as IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
According to sources, the government may highlight some successful 5G testbeds run in the country by Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea at the IMC 2022, which is co-hosted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
The Prime Minister stated during his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort that 5G services will be available in India soon.
Last month, Vaishnaw stated that the government expects 5G services to be available in the country by October 12, and that the Centre will ensure that the prices are reasonable for consumers.
Vaishnaw said that installations are being done and telecom operations are busy with the seamless rollout of 5G services.
The government will ensure that the 5G plans remain affordable for the public, the minister said.
The 5G services would be rolled out in a phased manner and during the first phase, 13 cities are likely to get the 5G internet services.
Cities where network to be set up
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune are among the cities.
Telcos will soon announce dedicated 5G tariff plans, similar to 3G and 4G, and consumers may pay more to access 5G services on their devices, according to industry experts.
With the launch of 5G, a tariff war is unlikely, but it “will be competitive as India continues to be a price-conscious market.”
