Jio, Airtel and Vi prepare for 5G launch.

Jio, Airtel and Vi prepare for 5G launch; 13 Cities to Get Services at First Step: Everything You Need to Know.

 Apart from the four metropolitan areas, cities like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Lucknow will also benefit from 5G services.

Highlights

• TSPs already have spectrum assignment lettersJ
• io bids highest in 5G spectrum auction
• Airtel and VI will also launch services soon   

India's 5G rollout is set to begin next month. Telecommunications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has already called upon service providers to prepare for the launch of 5G after releasing the spectrum allocation letters. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued spectrum allotment letters on the same day as the recipients of radio waves made advance payments. 

DoT has already confirmed that 13 Indian cities will get broadband internet services in the first phase. Here's an explanation of what happened and what you can expect in the coming days.

First, 5G services will be available in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.

DoT has already collected nearly Rs. 17,876 crore received by: Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Adani Data Networks and Vodafone Idea for spectrum won in the recent auction. 

Spectrum assignment letters have already been sent to service providers. This means that service providers can deploy the service once they are ready.

Reports suggest that the launch of 5G services will take place on September 29 during the inauguration of India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022. It was earlier reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the service in India on August 15. but TSPs and their suppliers need time to fully equip themselves, so the plan has apparently been postponed.

On August 15, Modi spoke about 5G, saying that the service, which will offer 10x faster speeds and lag-free connectivity, will soon be launched in India.

5G can deliver speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G, so high-speed internet helps people watch movies and download content quickly without buffering.

“We are now entering the 5G era…we don't have to wait much longer. We bring optical fiber to all cities. I am fully aware that the dream of Digital India goes through the villages. 

 Happy to develop India's 4 lakh joint service centers in villages. Modi said that the country can be proud of 4 lakh digital entrepreneurs trained in villages and people in villages are getting used to getting services from them.

Earlier this month, telecom operator Bharti Airtel said it will launch 5G services and cover all major cities and rural areas of the country by March 2024. 5G from August and we will expand it to pan India very soon. 

By March 2024, we believe we will be able to cover all key cities and even rural areas with 5G. 

In fact, detailed network implementation plans for over 5,000 cities in India have been fully implemented. This will be one of the biggest launches in our history,” Whittle said during the company's earnings call.

Airtel shares rise after advance payments to transport ministry for 5G spectrum purchase

Meanwhile, Vi has also started informing customers that it is currently in the process of upgrading to 5G and that the customer experience will "now be superior" and have better coverage in Delhi-NCR.

Reliance Industries' Jio was the biggest spender in the 5G spectrum auction, winning $11 billion (about Rs 87.8 billion) worth of airwaves to bid on the network's high-speed wireless.