Over 200 Cities in India to Get 5G by March 2023; Will this Ambitious Plan Work as Expected?

5G services were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1 at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022. Soon after, Airtel and Jio started offering their 5G services to users in select cities. Now, it has been confirmed that the government is planning to expand 5G services to over 200 cities by March 2023.

The Union Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that at least four cities of Odisha will receive 5G by the same time. It will be available across the state by the end of 2023. Here's more about the 5G expansion plan of the Indian government.

Cities Supporting 5G Right Now

According to the Union Telecom Minister, the government is ambitious to roll out 5G services to more towns and rural areas across the country. They are planning to cover over 200 cities in the next few months and take it further with time. Currently, the exact list of cities has not been disclosed by the government.

While Airtel and Jio led the 5G race in the country by rolling out their services, there is a catch. Airtel rolled out its next-gen mobile services in eight cities -- Chennai, Delhi, Varanasi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Bangalore. On the other hand, Jio launched its 5G services in four cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, and Kolkata. These telcos confirmed that they are working towards rolling out their 5G services to more cities as they become 5G-ready.

Talking about Vodafone Idea, there is no word on when the telecom operator plans to roll out its 5G services. Also, the companies are yet to reveal the 5G plan prices as they are currently offering free services as a part of their 5G trials.

Will Government's Ambitious 5G Expansion Plan Work as Expected?

Initially, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stated that as many as 13 major cities would receive 5G services but it did not go as planned. This leaves us with the question if the ambitious plan of rolling out the next-gen mobile services to as many as 200 cities will work as planned. Moreover, the demand for 5G is also questionable considering the high cost, despite providing faster internet speeds.