THE TELECOMMUNICATION sector will continue to expand and grow in 2023 when it comes to the fifth generation (5G) rollout. In fact, 2022 was a watershed year for the communications sector which saw India join the 5G bandwagon. And all thanks to some major reforms and policy direction by the government that led to the highest ever bids during the spectrum auction of 2022.
In terms of reforms, the government direction allows the telecom players zero spectrum usage charges on the spectrum they won via the auctions. Then the government also got rid of mandatory upfront payments for the spectrum winners. Operators who have won the 5G spectrum have also been allowed to surrender the spectrum after a 10-year period. The government also allowed easy payment options by increasing the number of annual installments to 20 among other policy reforms.
In July, the government had put 72,098 MHz spectrum to auction, of which 51,236 MHz (71 per cent of the total) was sold with a bid amounting to Rs 1,50,173 crore. "This is the highest-ever auction revenue proceeds received from a single auction," said a senior official in the communications ministry. Officially, the 5G services were launched in the country by the Prime Minister on October 1, 2022. As of end-November, the 5G services have been started in 50 towns across 14 states and union territories. Experts said the 5G subscriptions were expected to reach 31 million by end-2022.
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