DoT Issues List of Cities to Get India's First 5G Networks

On Monday, the DoT issued a list of 13 cities that will get the first 5G networks of India next year, kickstarting the 5G rollout.

Major Metros Will Get 5G Networks First - DoT

The government has been working on facilitating the rollout of 5G. Apart from enabling the ongoing 5G trials, the government also initiated a research project called the "Indigenous 5G Testbed Project".

Eight agencies - Indian Institute of Technology (IT) Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER), and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWIT) have been working on the project since 2018.

Till now, the DoT has spent Rs. 224 crore on the project. Furthermore, the project will conclude by December 31, 2021.

As such, the following cities will play host to the first 5G networks in the country.

• Ahmadabad
• Bangalore
• Chandigarh
• Chennai
• Delhi
• Gandhinagar
• Gurugram
• Hyderabad
• Jamnagar
• Kolkata
• Lucknow
• Mumbai
• Pune

Notably, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio have already set up trial 5G networks in Gurugram, Pune, Gandhinagar, and Kolkata. In the notification, DoT said, "these Metros and big cities would be the first places for the launch of 5G services in the country, next year".

The Indigenous 5G Testbed Project

Talking about the project, the DoT said, "costing Rs 224 crore, the project is likely to be completed by December 31, 2021, paving the way for end-to-end testing of 5G User Equipment (UEs) and network equipment by 5G stakeholders developing 5G products/services/use cases, including indigenous start-ups, SMEs, Academia, and Industry in the country".

The DoT also said that this project will further allow "development, testing, and proliferation of 5G technology system components, and cross-sectoral use cases". Also, the project will set up the foundation for the development of the 6G landscape in the country, it added.

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, DoT Secretary K Rajaraman said, "we hope to roll out this 5G testbed in early January which will enable SMEs and other parts of industries to come and test their solution on a working platform".

5G Rollout Has a Deadline

Talking at the DQDeepTech 2021, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Dr. SP Kochhar, the Director-General at COAI, shed some light on the 5G rollout. The COAI DG said that if the government solves all the issues the industry has, India will see a 5G rollout by mid-August 2022.

Interestingly, in September, the DoT had sent a reference to the TRAI. In the reference, it sought recommendations for the 5G spectrum auction with regard to a reserve price, band plan, block size, the quantum of spectrum to be auctioned, and conditions of auctions in 526-698 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz, and 24.25-28.5 GHz bands for 5G public as well as private 5G networks.

In response to the reference, TRAI had then launched a consultation paper on 5G. While releasing the consultation letter, TRAI also invited written comments on the same from the industry stakeholders. The industry can send in its comments by 11th January 2022, and TRAI will entertain counter-comments till 24th January 2022.

The government wants to hold a spectrum auction in April-May 2022, as it will take the telcos at least a quarter to set up preliminary 5G networks across the country. However, as the industry has repeatedly stated, a year-end deadline would have been more sensible.