By Aditya Raj Das
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal the Department of Telecommunications to conduct 5G spectrum auction to be held by the end of next month.
The spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to public and enterprises. A total of over 72 thousand Mega Hertz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction.
The auction will be held for spectrum in various Low, Medium and High frequency bands. It is expected that the spectrum will be utilised by Telecom Service Providers to roll-out of 5G technology-based services capable of providing speed and capacities which would be about 10 times higher than the current 4G services.
Digital connectivity has been an important part of policy initiatives of Government through its flagship programmes such as Digital India, Start-up India and Make in India. Broadband, especially mobile broadband, has become integral part of the daily lives of the citizens.
This received a big boost through the rapid expansion of 4G services across the country since 2015. Eighty-crore subscribers have access to broadband today compared to ten-crore subscribers in 2014.
Spectrum is an integral and necessary part of the entire 5G eco-system. The upcoming 5G services have the potential to create new-age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies.
The Cabinet also decided to enable the development and setting up of Private Captive Networks to spur a new wave of innovations in Industry 4.0 applications such as machine to machine communications, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) across automotive, health care, agriculture, energy and other sectors.
The 4G eco-system created in the country is now leading to 5G indigenous development. The 5G test bed set-up in eight top technology institutes of India is speeding up the launch of domestic 5G technology in India.