The government is trying to roll out 5G in 200 cities over the course of the next six months, according to telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s statement on Saturday. Although the goal was to cover 200 cities, Vaishnaw told reporters outside of a roundtable conversation with the IT ministers of various states that 600 cities would be covered in the following six months due to the momentum of the operation.
“The idea is to cover close to 80-90% of the country in two years. BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) should start rolling out 5G by August of next year. We have three good private players, one public sector player ecosystem… of four competitors in the market,” Vaishnaw said.
He added that the tariff of 5G would remain such that “India would remain an affordable market”.
On Saturday at the India Mobile Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the 5G service.
According to Vaishnaw, the government is currently concentrating on creating alternatives to radio networks and on building telecom network equipment in India. According to Vaishnaw, the Department of Telecommunications has partnered with 60 colleges to offer them access to 5G test facilities so they can conduct experiments on all facets of the technology.
“Our plan is to be able to provide a 5G test bed to whoever asks for it. But for now, we have tied up with 60 universities. People who are still in college, if they start developing new things, imagine the number of startups that will come,” the minister said.
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