Telecom cos likely to launch 5G services during 2022-23, minister says

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India’s telecom companies will likely start their 5G mobile services during 2022-23, the minister of communications said on July 20.

“Launch of 5G mobile services is likely during 2022-23,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written response to a lawmaker’s question in the parliament’s lower house.

Telecom companies are expected to bid aggressively for the 5G spectrum that will be auctioned later this month, with Reliance Jio Infocomm accounting for more than half of the earnest money deposited by the bidders.

In all, the four companies participating in the auction for 5G airwaves deposited a total of Rs 21,800 crore. The earnest money deposit gives bidders eligibility points on the basis of which they can bid for spectrum.

The government is expected to garner Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore as revenue from the sale of the spectrum, which supports wireless internet access at a much higher speed than the current 4G communications standard.

In response to a separate question on July 20, the minister of state for communication said that there was no proposal at present with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to raise the revenue sharing rate payable by telecom operators.

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