In 50 Indian cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Nathdwara, Varanasi, and others, 5G services are now accessible. Some airports also offer free access to quicker and more reliable fifth-generation network connectivity.
India is quickly gaining a 5G connection thanks to Reliance Jio and Airtel. Since the introduction of 5G services on October 1, telecom providers have increased 5G coverage to 50 Indian cities (until December 7) and are adding more virtually daily.
Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed at a recent Parliament Question Hour that 50 Indian towns have now received 5G connectivity in the last two months.
He stated in response to a question regarding the rollout of 5G in Parliament that "Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have started offering 5G services in the country from October 1, 2022 onward, and as of now, 5G services have started in 50 towns."
In the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for the auction of access spectrum, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has established rollout obligations, the minister said. He said that the TSPs have disclosed that they are currently offering 5G services at no additional cost to their users who own 5G-capable devices.
According to the minister, the government auctioned out 72,098 MHz of technology-neutral spectrum, of which 51,236.2 MHz (or roughly 71% of the total) was given to TSPs with a bid of Rs 1,50,173.29 crore.
The minimum rollout commitments are necessary to be met over a period of five years in a phased manner from the date of spectrum allocation, according to the NIA for the auction of access spectrum and licence terms, he added.
According to him, the TSPs' techno-commercial factors will determine whether the mobile network is expanded beyond the requirements for an obligatory rollout.
The cities with 5G service are listed below:
- Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Amreli, Botad, Junagadh, Porbandar, Veraval, Himmatnagar, Modasa, Palanpur, Patan, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Khambhalia, Morbi, Wadhwan, Ahwa, Bharuch, Navsari, Rajpipla, Valsad, Vyara, Anand, Chhota Udaipur, Dohad, Godhra, Lunawada and Nadiad
- Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur
- West Bengal : Kolkata, Siliguri
- Uttar Pradesh: Lucknow, Varanasi
- Delhi (UT): Delhi
- Tamil Nadu: Chennai
- Karnataka: Bengaluru
- Telangana: Hyderabad
- Rajasthan: Jaipur
- Haryana: Panipat
- Assam: Guwahati
- Kerala: Kochi
- Bihar: Patna
- Andhra Pradesh: Visakhapatnam
This list shows that most of the country's 5G coverage is in urban areas. The list might actually be much longer than this one, as 5G services are now available in places like Noida and Gurugram.
Since 2020, 5G phones have been accessible in India, allowing customers to use their phones to finally access high-speed data. Many of the companies have made their 5G phones compatible with local networks, including Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, and Oppo.
iPhones in India now support 5G on both the Jio 5G and Airtel 5G networks. The iOS 16.2 update was handed out for iPhone 12 and later models this week. Google has yet to release its 5G-centric upgrade for Pixel phones in the country.
However, some of the telecom providers, like BSNL and Vodafone Idea (Vi), are yet to roll out their 5G services. BSNL plans to roll out its 4G services at the beginning of 2023, followed by 5G in the middle or by the end of the following year. While Vi is trying to establish its 5G network in India, it is also facing financial difficulties at the same time.
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