"WE AIM TO ROLL OUT 5G BY OCTOBER"

A day after the week-long 5G spectrum auctions concluded on August 1, ASHWINI VAISHNAW, the Union minister of communications who is also in charge of railways, electronics and information technology, spoke exclusively to Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA on a range of issues concerning the outcome. Excerpts from the interview:

- RAJ CHENGAPPA

Q. How satisfied are you with the outcome of the 5G auction?

It has been a success and reflects the whole series of structural and procedural reform processes across the entire gamut of the telecom sector effected by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Before the auctions, all the estimates said we would get between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 lakh crore, but the numbers that have come Rs 1.5 lakh crore indicate that the industry is coming out of the deep troubles it had been facing.

How quickly can we get 5G on our phones in India?

We are working in close synchronisation with the industry. Even before the auctions happened, we had requested them to start setting up the equipment all over the country as far as possible. Before mid-August, we should be able to allocate spectrum and then by setting up the equipment, tuning it, and getting it running, we should be able to roll out 5G by October.

Q. Globally, there have been safety concerns regarding 5G networks and the harmful effects of intense radiation on humans living in close proximity to it.

We should look at these things from good evidence and scientific data. I would say if the global standards are 100 for electromagnetic field (EMF) radiations, then the average EMF level in India is just 10, or a tenth of the global standards. Why should we have such low radiation levels when it basically hampers our ability to provide good quality services? So, while we definitely have a very safe and secure environment, we should also consider increasing the EMF rather than keeping it at the current level to improve the quality of our telecom services.

Q. A few airlines in the US had protested the installation of 5G, saying it could interfere with their aircraft's electronic equipment. Will we have a similar problem in India?