5G Services Now Available Across 238 Cities in India: MoS Devusinh Chauhan

5G services are available across 238 Indian cities at the end of January 2023, Union minister of state for communications, Devusinh Chauhan informed Parliament on Wednesday.

Telecom Service Providers started providing high-speed 5G services in the country from October 2022 onwards.

"The Government has established a road map to make 5G services available in different parts of the country through rollout obligations. As per the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) dated 15-06-2022 for auction of spectrum and the license conditions, the rollout obligations are required to be met over a period of five years, in a phased manner, from the date of allocation of spectrum," the minister said.

The Government issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers in August 2022, while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services in the country.

Department of Telecom had received total bids worth Rs. 1.50 lakh crore from the 5G spectrum auction.

What is 5G, and how is it different from the current 3G and 4G services?

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network capable of transmitting a large data set at a very rapid speed.

In comparison to 3G and 4G, 5G has a very low latency which will enhance user experiences in various sectors. Low latency describes the efficiency to process a very high volume of data messages with a minimal delay.

The 5G rollout is also expected to bring more development in remote data monitoring in sectors such as mining, warehousing, telemedicine, and manufacturing, among others.

Who were the participants at the auction?

Reliance Jio, Adani group, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea were the four major participants in the spectrum auction.