Mumbai: The government expects the roll-out of 5G services to begin in the country in early October, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. “Once the spectrum auction ends, within a few days itself, we will allocate the spectrum. We expect the 5G rollout to start from early October and within a year or so we should have a good rollout in the country,” the minister said. of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology of the Union Ashwini Vaishnaw to reporters here.
The 5G rollout is likely to be the fastest compared to many other regions, said the minister on the sidelines of the Telecom Investor roundtable: The Indian 5G Opportunity.
“We believe we will likely counter the trend of a much faster 5G rollout compared to many other regions as our other costs are significantly under control,” he added.
Bidding for 5G spectrum entered day five on Saturday, amid continued interest in radio waves from players such as Trust Jio and Bharti Airtel.
When asked whether the significant presence of Reliance Jio and Airtel will result in a duopoly, the minister said it will not happen because the reforms have brought stability to the industry and there is healthy competition.
“Duopoly will not happen, September reforms have resulted in good stability in the industry, we are looking for new players to enter the segment and there will be good healthy competition in the sector. BSNL will emerge as a good market balancer,” he noted.
The 5G auction is doing well, showing that the industry is booming, and the results are very good. Nearly Rs 1.49 lakh crore has been pledged by the industry for spectrum buying, showing how the sector is maturing, he added.
The minister also stated that the government plans to change the entire legal structure so that the telecom industry can grow seamlessly.
“We need to create a modern law so that countries around the world follow our legal structure as a global benchmark, as this is a global industry, not an isolated industry,” he said.
“Today, confidence has been instilled in the telecom sector,” Vaishnaw said, adding, “the telecom industry is seen as a sunrise industry, and many of the old problems are now behind us.”
Spectrum as a resource should be used in a technology neutral way, options such as spectrum leasing, use of 4G spectrum for 5G, etc. should all be allowed, these should be reformed so that there is some degree of certainty for the industry, the said minister.
“So, the next one is changing the whole legal structure, we are still governed by an 1885 law, a 1933 law and a 1950 law, the Prime Minister has repealed about 1,500 laws, we are going to change the telecom legal framework. clean up so there is no disruption to the industry,” he said.
“We will create a legal structure for the telecom sector, we invite your suggestions, read the uploaded consultation document, the aim should be to include it in next year’s Monsoon session. So by August 2023, we hope to have a new legal structure,” he added.
About the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, Vaishnaw said the telecom sector received a very good response, nearly 31 companies were granted permission under PLI and almost a lakh crore in incremental production under the scheme.
“In the next 2-3 years, we hope to achieve the same success in telecom equipment manufacturing as our success in electronics manufacturing. We hope many of these companies will become exporters and leave their mark on the world,” he added. he to it.
cash-strapped Vodafone idea is still in talks with European suppliers for 5G contracts, according to people familiar with the matter. They added that the loss-making telco will initially place orders for circles where it has a revenue market share of 15% and above, namely metro plus category circles.