5G rollout in India: The government of India is likely to hold 5G or the fifth-generation technology spectrum auction in early June and the roll out of the 5G services in the country will begin by August-September. Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Department of Telecom is working as per expected timeline and the process is on to resolve industry concerns around spectrum pricing. 

How 5G will change our lives

Online shopping experience will change drastically: 5G offers high-performance, ultra-low latency networks which will help retailers to use immersive technologies such as Augmented reality to integrate the physical and digital worlds. This means shoppers may even try products virtually without the need to go to the store physically.

Medical services: Doctors will be able to provide medical assistance to the injured or sick in any remote area of the country through high speed internet and virtual reality controllers.

Autonomous cars and drones: Autonomous cars are not something new. Countries around the world are experimenting driverless cars. In fact, India’s first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line was inaugurated on December 28 last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 5G will give life to better and safer autonomous cars, drones that will connect to other things, or IoT. 

Higher internet speed: Buffering on the mobile phones will become a thing of the past as internet speed on mobile phones will become 100 times more on the 5G network as compared to 4G. High definition films will be downloaded instantly. This will be a big boon for OTT platforms as well. 

Also Read | Airtel set to launch 5G to deliver high-speed network

Challenge for people at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid

While 4G and 5G networks require smartphones, an estimated 28 crore mobile phone users in India still use basic or feature phones. For them, even the entry-level smartphone is costly. In India, an affordable 5G for the masses may take a longer time to happen, but the country must take the first step towards it this year, so that it catches up with the world on 5G fast.

India late to the party? 

By 2025, 5G networks are expected to cover one-third of the worlds population, and South Korea, China and the US are the countries which would lead the world in developing and deploying 5G technology. 

Setting the stage for the rollout of 5G services, telecom regulator Trai has mooted a mega auction plan valued at over Rs 7.5 lakh crore at the base price across multiple bands for radio waves allocated over 30 years. The watchdog has recommended a mega auction plan of over Rs 7.5 lakh crore for over 1 lakh megahertz spectrum in case the government allocates it for a period of 30 years. In case of 20 years, the total value of the proposed spectrum auction will stand at around Rs 5.07 lakh crore at the reserve price, according to the back-of-the-envelope calculation. 

Also Read | 5G auction to be held on schedule, within stipulated timeline: Vaishnaw

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