Unboxing 5G: How and what of the high-speed mobile network

Now that the 5G auctions are done and dusted, it’s time for the big network rollout in India. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are all gearing up to soon launch the high-speed services that are poised to not only transform consumer experience – bringing minimum speeds of 100 Mbps to begin with – but also completely redefine enterprise in areas such as smart factories, immersive gaming, smart hospitals and remote surgeries, autonomous and always-connected mobility as well as e-education and intelligent agriculture. TOI takes a deep dive into the various aspects of 5G.

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When Will Operators Launch Services?

5G services are expected to launch in the coming weeks. The first step towards the launch was completed with the 5G auctions that concluded on August 1 this year. The auctions saw a record Rs 1.5 lakh crore – the highest ever from any spectrum sale – flow into the government kitty. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio was the largest buyer, lapping up spectrum worth Rs 88,078 crore. It was followed by Sunil Mittal’s Airtel that bought spectrum worth Rs 43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea spent Rs 18,799 crore.

Will Services Be Launched Across India?

Services are to launch in October with the likes of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata to be among the first to get onto the 5G bandwagon. The launch though would be staggered and shall cover the first half of 2023 as part of the initial Phase 1. Other cities to boast inaugural 5G services in Phase 1 would include Gurugram, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Gandhinagar. At the company’s AGM recently, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said, “By Diwali, we will launch Jio 5G across multiple key cities. By December 2023, we will deliver 5G to every town of India.”

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