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At the Union Budget 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is presenting her 4th straight budget, outlined the targets for the telecom sector in 2022-23. The Finance Minister said that the telcos will roll out 5G within 2022-23, with the spectrum auction happening this year.
Union Budget 2022 for Telecom
"Spectrum auction will be held in 2022 for 5G," the Finance Minister said. Along with this, she added, "5G will be rolled out by private telcos within 2022-23", all but confirming the rumors that the telcos, in fact, are working under a deadline.
The government has confirmed all the speculation regarding the 5G rollout, and we now have a clear deadline. In all certainty, a 5G rollout during this year depends solely on the time of the auction. The telcos have said that they need at least two quarters for rollout from the time of acquiring auction. Therefore, the latest the government can hold an auction in order for the telcos to roll out 5G is June. Along with this, under the PLI scheme for telecom infra, the government has announced a special scheme to develop 5G equipment. "A scheme for design-led manufacturing will be launched to build a strong ecosystem for 5G as part of the PLI scheme," the Finance Minister announced at Union Budget 2022.
Connectivity for All @ Union Budget 2022
The current budget also moved its focus towards enhancing rural connectivity and bridging the digital divide. As such, the government will complete optical fiber laying, connecting all villages of India, by 2025, under the BharatNet scheme. "The contracts for laying optical fiber in rural areas, including remote areas, will be awarded under the BharatNet project through PPP in 2022-23", Nirmala Sitharaman said. She further added, "Completion is expected in 2025. Measures will be taken to enable better use of the optical fiber". This means that the government has stepped on the gas for BharatNet. After BBNL merged with BSNL, though, this deadline becomes challenging.
"To enable affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural areas, 5% of the annual collections under the USOF will be allocated. This will provide and promote R&D for commercialization of technology", the Finance Minister added.
The Finance Minister envisioned an India where there remains no digital divide. "Our vision is that all rural residents have access to e-services," she said.