The next generation of telecommunication standards will be rolled out in India soon, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing the Union Budget for the upcoming fiscal. The spectrum auction for the 5G telecommunication spectrum will happen in 2022-23 to allow the launch of 5G services from major telecommunication networks within this FY, she said in the Lok Sabha today.

Major telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Vodafone Idea are undertaking trials for the 5G service in various areas across the country. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already approved 5G trials requests to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and MTNL.

The DoT is likely to submit its pricing for the 5G spectrum, following which the government will open up the auction for the spectrum to all private and public players.

Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea had also participated in the two-day spectrum auction concluded in March 2021 for the 4G spectrum, which was the last spectrum auction. During the auction, the government sold 855.6MHz of the spectrum, worth Rs 77,820.81 crore.

Airtel had launched the first 4G mobile network in 2014. By 2016, all major telecommunication companies in India began offering 4G mobile networks. Today, 96 percent of all data consumed through the country is through the 4G network, according to data from the 2020 Nokia MBiT Index.

In India, 22 percent of smartphone users own 5G-ready handsets, which is expected to speed up the adaption of the network in comparison to the 4G spectrum. According to Ericsson's Mobility Report, subscriptions to 5G services will reach one billion, two years before 4G/LTE reached the same benchmark.

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(Edited by : Thomas Abraham)