Union Budget 2022: Government to Auction 5G Airwaves This Year, Network Rollout To Begin In 2023

Last Updated on February 1, 2022 by Anu Joy

While there have been 5G smartphones readily available in the Indian market for about two years in India, the unavailability of the 5G service rendered them useless. But, now India is all set to go 5G. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India, revealed the details of the 5G spectrum auction while introducing the Union Budget 2022 today. The minister stated that the spectrum auction will take place in 2022, while the actual rollout may happen by next year. 

The Finance Minister said,

Schemes for design-led manufacturing 5G will be made part of production linked incentive scheme. To enable affordable broadband and mobile service and proliferation in rural, 5% of annual collection under USOs fund will be allocated. This will provide and promote R&D and commercialisation of tech and solutions.

Also read: Airtel Conducts India’s First 5G Trials In 700MHz Band In Partnership With Nokia

The 5G rollout in the country will create more job opportunities and will also enable growth. Moreover, internet data usage has increased tremendously in the last couple of years owing to online learning and people working from home. 5G technology promises to deliver much faster speeds than 4G and will aid in the penetration of mobile networks and broadband in rural parts of India. 

The three major telecom operators—Airtel, Jio, and Vi (Vodafone Idea) will enter the 5G airwaves auction this year and will be an interesting one for sure. The telecom operators have been conducting 5G trials in various parts of the country. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had recently announced that commercial 5G services will come to thirteen cities in India in 2022. But, Sitaraman’s statement suggests that we will get to enjoy 5G speeds only in 2023. If rumours are to be believed, the 5G spectrum auction is slated to take place in Q1 of 2022. 

Also read: Reliance Jio 5G Speed Test Results Revealed