5G commercial launch to happen first in 13 major cities

Now that the government has given its approval to the 5G spectrum auctions, it is reported that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will begin work on the Notification Invitation Request (NIA). Once this is published, the auction will start in a few weeks. While it is currently unknown when the launch of 5G services might occur, we do know that users will be able to experience them faster in 2022.

It was previously reported that the 5G India rollout could start on August 15, but this does not appear to be happening. The commercial launch of 5G could happen in September, considering the current situation. Please note that 5G will not be available to everyone in the initial stage and will gradually become available across India.

Don't expect 5G to hit every corner of the country in a few months. The latest network could take years to reach everyone, something we've also seen with 4G. There are still some places where the 4G network is not available. Just a few days ago, the 4G network was rolled out in the Ladakh region for the first time.

According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), 5G will first be rolled out in just 13 major cities in India. These include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Kolkata. Currently, it is not known which telecom operator will roll out 5G services first.

The government has confirmed that spectrum totalling 72 GHz will be auctioned in various frequency bands, including 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz.