5G will be available in most parts of India in 2-3 years: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. (Photo: ANI)

Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on August 25 said that the recently-auctioned 5G telecom services are expected to launch by October and should reach every part of the country in the next two to three years.

"We are planning to roll out 5G services rapidly, telecom operators are working in that regard and installations are being done," Vaishnaw said in a press conference, reported news agency ANI.

The minister added that the government will ensure the services remain affordable.

"Our expectations are that 5G should reach every part of the country in the next two to three years. We'll ensure that it remains affordable. The industry is focusing on both urban as well as rural areas," the Union Minister said.

Moreover, while launching the 5G RoW application form on the Gati Shakti Sanchar portal, Vaishnaw added that a common portal for all states made to have a central stop-shop for entry of infrastructure applications and approvals will help in overall development and progress.

India's biggest ever auction of telecom spectrum that concluded on August 1, received a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore of bids, with Reliance Industries digital arm Reliance Jio cornering nearly half of all the airwaves sold with an Rs 88,078 crore bid. Adani Group, on the other hand, paid Rs 212 crore for 400 MHz, or less than one percent of all spectrum sold, in a band that is not used for offering public telephony services.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs 43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea Ltd bought spectrum for Rs 18,799 crore.

Of the 72,098 MHz of spectrum offered across 10 bands, 51,236 MHz, or 71 percent, was sold.

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