India’s 5G network has already spread across more than 700 districts across the country, with 446,000 5G base stations.
Local media reports that the next federal budget is likely to announce efforts to develop India’s 5G ecosystem as well as funding for further research and development in the 6G sector. Business Standard The report quoted an official from the Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
India’s federal budget is scheduled to be announced on July 23rd.
In the Budget approved for 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced setting up 100 labs for the development of 5G applications. In April, the Ministry of Transport launched an experimental licensing module for 100 5G labs and has so far granted experimental licenses for around 1,500 5G labs.
Indian telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm are rapidly expanding their 5G networks across India. According to reports, India’s 5G network has already spread to over 700 districts across the country with 446,000 5G base stations.
The report also said that as of the end of March, India had over 180 million 5G users, with 108 million 5G customers using Reliance Jio Infocomm’s network and 72 million 5G subscribers using Airtel’s network infrastructure.
The Indian government raised a total of 113.4 billion Indian rupees ($1.3 billion) in a postponed spectrum auction last month, selling a total of 141 MHz of spectrum in eight frequency bands – 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz.
Local telecom operator Bharti Airtel emerged as the highest bidder in the auction, spending a total of INR 68.6 billion to acquire 97 megahertz of spectrum, followed by Vodafone Idea, which acquired spectrum for a total of INR 35.1 billion, and Reliance Jio Infocomm, which spent around INR 10 billion to secure additional 5G spectrum.
According to India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the new 5G spectrum will be allocated for a period of 20 years, with successful bidders able to pay in equal installments over 20 years.
The report also noted that a communications ministry official said 5G infrastructure will be the foundation on which 6G technology will be built, and will usher in a range of new solutions, so the finance minister is likely to talk about the Bharat 6G vision and efforts toward a future 6G system in his speech.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharat 6G Alliance is an initiative of Indian industry, academia, national laboratories and standards bodies focused on designing, developing and deploying technologies for future 6G systems through fostering an ecosystem for research, design, development, field testing, security, certification and manufacturing of communication solutions.
“Around 2030 is a reasonable time frame for the first live 6G networks to become a reality. With the 6G Bharat vision, India has positioned itself as a key player in shaping 6G technology standards. However, achieving the target requires incremental policy efforts and further investments in research and development,” the official said.
