5G services in India by March 2023: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the auction of the 5G spectrum will be completed by July end and 5G will be ready to deploy in March 2023.

Paris: India will get a full-fledged 5G services by March 2023, said Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at Viva Technology 2022 event. In an interview with ANI, Vaishnaw said that the auction of the 5G spectrum will be completed by July end, adding, "Telecom is the primary source of digital consumption and it is very important to bring trusted solutions in telecom. India has its own stack of 4G like radio, equipment and handset. 4G is ready to deploy in the field and 5G is ready in the lab, and 5G will be ready to deploy in March 2023."

"The technology, core network behind 5G services should be built up by India, that would be an achievement for the country," said Vaishnaw.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finally approved the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)`s 5G spectrum auction through which spectrum will be assigned to bidders to provide 5G services to the public as well as enterprises.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Communications, it is expected that the Mid and High band spectrum will be utilised by Telecom Service Providers to roll-out 5G technology-based services capable of providing speed and capacities which would be about 10 times higher than what is possible through the current 4G services.

The Minister said that the 5G spectrum auction will be completed by July end. "After the auction, we will have consultations with the telecom service providers and will try to come with 5G services as soon as possible, said Vaishnaw.

On the 5G spectrum auction response, Minister said that he is hopeful that the 5G auction will get a good response from 5G service providers. 

Talking about the successful journey of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Minister said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between NPCI, International and Lyra Network of France for `Acceptance of UPI & Rupay Card in France.` 

"The whole world is watching that India is doing 5.5 billion UPI transactions in a month. This is a big achievement for India. Today`s MoU with France is a big step towards the world," he added. Vaishnaw said that Europe`s biggest start-up Viva Technology 2022 has recognized India as the `country of the year`.

"Europe has recognized the vision that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started long back. The world wants to learn from India how fast India has developed this start-up ecosystem. Europe recognized India that how India has produced more than 100 Unicorns," said Vaishnaw.

Talking about the semiconductor chip manufacturing, the Minister said, "I am confident enough that within a few months we are going to sign the first agreement. I am going to Belgium to meet IMEC officials. Tomorrow we will be able to confirm their support for India. The world needs a trusted partner and India is the only country which can be their trusted partner. Today whole world looks towards India with positivity. If India is successful, then the world will be successful."